With a pulsating mix of African dance, hip-hop, samba and capoeira, Brazil’s Balé de Rua will send temperatures soaring when they storm the Sydney Opera House for just 11 shows this summer.

Choreographed by Marco Antônio Garcia, a self taught dancer, in collaboration with the French director Paul Desveaux, Balé de Rua (Street Ballet) traces the country’s history from its African roots to contemporary Brazil.

Influenced by the daily life of the dancers, most of whom survived by doing odd jobs in the favelas of Brazil’s big cities, Balé de Rua represents the cultural melting pot of Brazil.

With a cast of 14 men and one woman, Balé de Rua will feature original music and traditional melodies, with the dancers creating live percussion in a carnivalé celebration of breaks and beats.

Discovered at Lyon’s Biennale de la Danse in 2002, Balé de Rua will make its Australian debut following triumphant performances at London’s Barbican Centre and Edinburgh Fringe Festival where the company picked up a Herald Angel Award.

Fernando Narduchi, Marco Antônio Garcia and José Marciel Silva created Cia de Danca Balé de Rua in 1992 after discovering a shared passion for an urban style of dance but with a marked Brazilian identity.

The company, which provides dance training to young people from all over the working class districts of Uberlandia in central Brazil, opened its own cultural centre in 2007 with funding from the Brazilian Ministry of Culture.

Sydney Opera House Concert Hall 8 – 17 January 2010.  See What's On for details.