(6 Feb 2010) SHOTLIST
AP Television
2 February, 2010
1. Wide of Viradouro samba school headquarters during rehearsal
2. Various of drum corps queen candidate, 7-year-old, Julia Lira dancing on stage
3. 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."
4. Julia Lira posing with actress Juliana Paes (right) and Imperio Serrano samba school drum corps queen Quiteria Chagas (left)
5. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Julia Lira, Viradouro drum corps queen candidate:
"I am happy."
(Q) You''re happy? Why?"
"Because I like to dance."
6. Lira dancing on stage
7. 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."
8. Lira dancing on stage
9. Pan of crowd
5 February, 2010
10. Various of contestants on stage
11. Wide of audience
12. Contestant dancing on stage
13. People laughing and clapping
14. Wide of contestant walking onto stage
15. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Milton Cunha, Event organiser:
"The contestants come out displaying their school''s theme. It is really beautiful. It is just a great party full of that jovial carioca (nickname for Rio residents) spirit, because we all know carioca loves to have fun and joke around. And to see these men dressed as women on stage, they are like modern-day jesters. We all are."
16. Contestant dancing
17. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Luciano Costa, Event organiser:
"This party is designed for the carnival workers, it is a way for them to have fun before carnival begins."
18. Contestant dancing
19. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Monica Dias, seamstress for the Salagueiro samba school:
"It is a great party, it brings all of us together. It is very happy, that is what carnival is all about."
20. Contestant dancing
STORYLINE
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.
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