7-year Old Samba Queen... Huh?

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Apparently one of the samba schools in the Rio Carnival put a 7-year old (the daughter of the troupe president) as the "queen" leading their float in the parade. More information here:

Spoiler

RIO DE JANEIRO – Julia Lira, Rio's 7-year-old Carnival drum corps queen, didn't like one bit of the cameras that honed in on her as she led a lavish samba parade, and reacted as any child might — by having a good cry.

But the sprite of a samba dancer did her best to brush away the tears, and after a few minutes of holding her mom's hand and resting in the arms of a doting official from her Viradouro samba group, she returned in front of the crowd to dance early Monday.

The samba parades — which pit 12 top-tier groups against one another in a competition that is closely watched by millions throughout the country — began Sunday evening and didn't stop until the sun rose Monday after six groups paraded.

On Monday evening, the final six will go before the cheering crowds of 80,000 in a specially designed stadium.

Dressed in a sequined halter top and a miniskirt made of purple feathers, young Julia tentatively stepped through the first 50 yards (meters) of the parade. Her father — the president of Viradouro — then took her by the hand and presented her to the crowd.

She smiled big for the photographers and adoring fans.

But 10 minutes into the group's presentation and surrounded by dozens of photographers and television cameramen, the youngster broke down in tears and was immediately scooped into the arms of her unofficial handler, the group's spokeswoman Joice Hurtado, and taken away from the attention.

After a five-minute cooldown, Julia returned to her place in front of the group's massive drum line, but was quickly whisked through the parade grounds by her father and out of the media's eye.

"She just got scared after having all those cameras thrust in her face," Hurtado said after the parade. "After we got her into her mother's arms, she quickly calmed down and put on a great show."

While Julia bounced back and began to samba at the helm of the parade, television coverage steered clear of showing any more shots of her.

Some in the audience thought she was not ready for the spotlight.

"She is too young to be a drum corps queen," said Marister Deniz, 60, who was watching from the stands. "A girl that size shouldn't be thrust in such a role."

But Jorge Elias Souza, a member of the Viradouro drum corps, said he was proud of the girl regardless.

"She is the embodiment of all the love in our school. Normally a famous person is the drum corps queen, but her father is our president and she is the center of our family," he said.

Putting Julia in the Carnival role drew the ire of child welfare advocates who were against a young girl taking on a role normally reserved for sultry models and actresses.

Carlos Nicodemos, director of the Rio de Janeiro state Council for the Defense of Children and Adolescents, two weeks ago asked a judge to keep Julia from dancing, arguing that "what we can't allow is putting a 7-year-old girl in a role that traditionally for Carnival has a very sexual focus."

A judge ruled last week that the girl could join the parade, and the overwhelming response in Brazil was a shrug and acceptance.

Before Julia took to the parade ground, Rio's reigning Carnival Queen Shayene Cesario Vieira, 24, said she thought "it's cool" that the girl would participate.

"I don't remember hearing of a drum corps queen being so young," she said. "But her dad is the president of the group and if he thinks it's OK, it's OK."

In the two weeks leading up to the Carnival parade, Marco Lira said repeatedly that he and his wife would be with Julia at all times — which they were — and they would carefully watch to make sure she doesn't get too tired during the parade.

Viradouro has a history of controversial themes. A 2008 float portrayed Hitler amid a sea of naked mannequins representing Holocaust victims. A judge banned that float from the parade.

Nicodemos has also suggested that the samba group put Julia into her role to get extra attention — a charge strongly denied by her father.

As the samba parades hit high gear, massive street parties continued to erupt across the city.

Tourism officials said almost 730,000 visitors arrived in Rio this year for the big party — a 5 percent increase over last year.

It's the first Carnival since Rio was named as host to the 2016 Olympics, and officials have been working hard to show that the city, known for the drug-gang violence that pervades its slums, can safely host major events.

There have been few reports of violence during the party so far, though on Friday a Dutch tourist was shot while being robbed.

Hospital officials said the man underwent surgery and was in stable condition on Sunday.

So... What do you think? Personally, I do not think it is such a big deal; samba is danced by kids as well, and I'd suppose that the girl loves to dance as much as anyone else. There have been concerns that she is put into an inherently erotic position, but I think the position is made erotic by the dancers' performance, and this girl is way too young to be taken in any sexual capacity (at least by anyone who wouldn't do it anyway, samba or no). What worried me somewhat is her reaction to the cameras, but I'd say it's something that may happen to many older dances who step in front of similar attention, whether at a samba carnival or a school performance.

It's definitely not something I'd put a 7-year old kid of my own, mind you... but then again, I don't know - I'm not a parent anyway.

 

I think the bolded part is the important part, and I agree. I think it's up to the parents. The crying may indicate it was a little early for her, or just that this was her first large stage presentation. As you said, people much older can be just as freaked out when presented wth all those cameras and attention for the first time.

 

No big deal to me. There is an obvious difference when there is a 7-year old dancing a samba as compared to a young woman. If you find the 7-year old dancing to be sexy, you already got problems. And yeah, that's not something I'd want one of my kids to be doing (not that I have any daughters), but for them it's far more of a cultural thing than it is elsewhere.

 

I've seen a 14 year old girl burst into tears in front of cameras in a public dance theatre. It's often a nervous reflex that people grow out of when personality and mind evolve into a more mature individual rather than a youngster who reverts to instinctual behaviour in the face of a stress. Is why playing games against children their frustration is clearer than searching for the tells in an adult poker player to figure

Dancing is evocative, from a simple display of exuberance and joy to the more intricate moves to imply sultry desires and connotations. Music is also a play in this. (if anyone checks out t-shirt hell, check out the winners page for the "shake your boo-tee" contest and see what I mean )

The main concern in an article like this is the implication of pressure, dancing is a love, it's something you do because you enjoy it, too often though it becomes a parents dream as a child grows out of shoes and frocks and moves onto something else. Hell even I danced as a girl before told to leave there are pressures to be able to attend all performances or risk not passing grades, pressure to take grades and compare yourselves to class mates, it can become a chore more than a pleasure after a while if one is not careful about how one approaches the lessons.

It's a similar concept which leads to many UK universities looking for students for medical degrees which have music grades of 6 or higher - the level of commitment and pushing through the times when learning is trickier and teachers are pains in the backside and the level of devotion and dedication to an art which are what medical students require to apply to their studies in university.

 

I wouldn't want my daughters dressed like that either, but different strokes for different folks.

 

Well, she seems to be wearing the most cloth out of her peers, which says something .