Help us celebrate our 10th anniversary of Choro music at Centrum with a Dance Party!

Friday, April 26, 2019
USO Building at Fort Worden
8-10pm; Tickets $16 sold at the door

We’ll have live music by our Choro workshop faculty and students. No dance experience necessary. $16 at the door. The event is at the USO Building, opposite the Wheeler Theater and McCurdy Pavilion. Space is limited, so please arrive early.

The Brazilian musical style of Choro represents the coming together of European melodic and harmonic traditions with African rhythms and sensibilities. Emerging in Brazil in the middle of the nineteenth century, Choro is a cousin of jazz, with a sense of yearning that is often described as a “sweet lament.” Many ethnomusicologists believe that the name Choro comes from the Portuguese verb chorar—that is, to weep or to cry. It often seems bright and happy on the surface, but if you dig deeper you’ll find a kind of sadness, a longing that Brazilians call saudade.

Something about the combination of Portuguese and Italian influences resulted in melodies with a strong romantic feeling. When joined with its African influences, Choro has an irresistible groove and rhythmic momentum that is uniquely Brazilian.