(5 Feb 2010) SHOTLIST
1. Wide of Viradouro samba school headquarters during rehearsal
2. Wide of Viradouro drum corps on stage
3. Various of drum corps queen candidate, 7-year-old, Julia Lira dancing on stage
4. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Marco Lira, school president and Julia''s father:
"She knows how to samba. She has an aptitude for it. It is not like we are lowering the bar for her, she is a child who is capable of being the queen of the drum corps."
5. Marco Lira on stage with Julia Lira and other dancers
6. Julia Lira posing with actress Juliana Paes (right) and Imperio Serrano samba school drum corps queen Quiteria Chagas (left)
7. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Julia Lira, Viradouro drum corps queen candidate:
"I am happy."
(Q) You''re happy? Why?"
"Because I like to dance."
8. Wide of drum corps playing instruments
9. Lira dancing on stage
10. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Marco Lira, school president and Julia''s father:
"I believe any man who looks at a seven-year-old and feels any sort of excitement should go seek a doctor and commit himself."
11. Lira dancing on stage
12. Tilt up of young boy dancing
13. Flag bearers dancing
14. Reverse shot of Lira dancing on stage
15. Pan of crowd
MINI SAMBA QUEEN CAUSES CONTROVERSY
A veritable Shirley Temple of samba has caused controversy in Brazil by holding the coveted position of a drum corps queen, a spot normally reserved for stunning adult models.
The placement of 7-year-old Julia Lira at the centre of the Viradouro samba school''s ornate parade is raising eyebrows in a city used to seeing it all, literally, during Carnival.
A judge is considering blocking Julia''s participation while a state agency for the protection of children is up in arms at the appointment.
However, Viradouro''s president Marco Lira, who is also the girl''s father, says she is a natural samba queen and can manage dancing after midnight in Rio de Janiero''s sweltering summer heat, in front of thousands of spectators.
"She knows how to samba. She has an aptitude for it. It is not like we are lowering the bar for her, she is a child who is capable of being the queen of the drum corps," Lira said.
There was no doubting she had talent on Tuesday as she opened the samba school''s rehearsal in front of more than 1,000 musicians and dancers.
Julia light up the stage as she dived into her samba routine bouncing from one foot to the other in her silver-heeled sandals, sequined halter top and puffy white mini skirt.
When asked why she wants to be the drum corps queen, Julia answers in a quiet voice: "Because I like to dance."
At the delicate core of Julia''s case is the drum corps queen''s traditional role in Rio''s Carnival: that of sexy muse, the feminine focus of attention, able to win spectators'' eyes despite parading in a sea of barely clad bodies.
Representatives from child protection groups, like Rio de Janeiro state''s Council for the Defence of Children and Adolescents, have expressed concern about little Julia Lira assuming this role.
The organisation''s director, Carlos Nicodemos, has even gone as far as to say he''s concerned Julia''s intended carnival role could "increase the treatment of children as sexual objects in Brazilian society."
Marco Lira rejected that argument on Tuesday.
"Any man who looks at a 7-year-old child and feels any sort of excitement should go see a doctor," he said.
Whether Julia gets to be in that limelight is in the hands of a family court in Rio.
The judge examining the case, Ivone Ferreira Caetano, has declined to comment about it or to say when a decision would be made.

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