Cape Town – The Cape Town Carnival is bringing a taste of Rio to the Mother City with the inclusion of Brazilian dancers Marcella Alves and Raphael Rodrigues in the parade on Saturday.
Alves and Rodrigues were the winners of the 2011 Flag Bearing Couple Competition in the world famous Rio Carnival last year. This will be their second year performing at the Cape Town Carnival, which returns for the third year on Saturday March 24.
The theme of the 2012 Carnival is Cape to Cairo - a journey through Africa and its people, sights and sounds.
Carnival Procession
There will be nine richly decorated themed floats in the parade, each accompanied by 150 performers and dramatic lead dancers.
The overall ensemble of more than 2000 participants is made up of performers from many genres including belly-dancers, gum-boot dancers, minstrels, puppeteers, hip hop, Spanish, contemporary and African traditional dancers.
The Carnival starts at 17:00 on the Fanwalk with street performers and a concert at the Stadium forecourt featuring Chad Saaiman and Friends.
The Carnival Procession starts at 20:00 from Dixon Street and proceeds along Somerset Road to York Street.
MyCiti buses, Metrorail and Golden Arrow will be running late to take people attending the carnival home. A full list of road closures for Saturday is available here.
Watch Alves and Rodrigues' performance at last year's Rio Carnival here:
Alves and Rodrigues were the winners of the 2011 Flag Bearing Couple Competition in the world famous Rio Carnival last year. This will be their second year performing at the Cape Town Carnival, which returns for the third year on Saturday March 24.
The theme of the 2012 Carnival is Cape to Cairo - a journey through Africa and its people, sights and sounds.
Carnival Procession
There will be nine richly decorated themed floats in the parade, each accompanied by 150 performers and dramatic lead dancers.
The overall ensemble of more than 2000 participants is made up of performers from many genres including belly-dancers, gum-boot dancers, minstrels, puppeteers, hip hop, Spanish, contemporary and African traditional dancers.
The Carnival starts at 17:00 on the Fanwalk with street performers and a concert at the Stadium forecourt featuring Chad Saaiman and Friends.
The Carnival Procession starts at 20:00 from Dixon Street and proceeds along Somerset Road to York Street.
MyCiti buses, Metrorail and Golden Arrow will be running late to take people attending the carnival home. A full list of road closures for Saturday is available here.
Watch Alves and Rodrigues' performance at last year's Rio Carnival here: