SASHYA JAY BRITO.
Sashya Jay de Brito is Australia’s most recognised Brazilian Show Director and an internationally renowned Artistic Director, Choreographer and Performing Artist. She has featured in multi-award winning performances in Rio Carnaval and the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras.
Sashya has performed around the world - Hong Kong, Cuba, Fiji, USA - and at an elite level in Rio Carnaval since 2017. She has paraded as a Passista (professional Samba dancer) for three of Rio’s top Samba schools - Imperio Serrano, Paraiso do Tuiuti and Academicos do Salgueiro (including the Champions Parade with both Tuiuti and Salgueiro in 2018 and 2019) - and as a Musa/Rainha das Passistas (Queen of Passistas) representing Imperio Serrano in 2020.
A powerhouse visionary, Sashya has directed, produced and starred in three major stage shows: The Carnaval Experience, Worlds In Motion and Flava of The Caribbean. The Carnaval Experience debuted at the Juniors Auditorium in May 2019 with an official launch show to a full house at The Factory Theatre in September 2019 followed by sold-out shows at the Uruguayan Club in 2020 and The Juniors Auditorium again in June 2021.
Sashya’s forte in Brazilian Samba has evolved through immersing herself in the culture as well as training and performing with the top Samba artists and aficionados in Brasil, the USA and Australia since 2005. She is one of only four international artists officially endorsed by Carlinhos Salgueiro (Rio’s King of Samba) and has taught Samba workshops around Australia and at the Brasil Samba Congress in Rio, the International Samba Congress and Samba Queen Competition in the USA.
The creation of Rio Projekt was sparked by Sashya’s ever-evolving vision and fierce dedication to artist progression.
Inspired by her intensive work in Rio and Brazilian performing arts for well over a decade, Rio Projekt has set an international benchmark as a trailblazing ensemble.
“I have been lucky enough to work with Sashya and Rio Projekt for the past 5 years in my role as host on Sunrise"
Sam Mac - Sunrise on 7 (Channel 7)
ARTISTIC DIRECTION
CHOREOGRAPHY
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Chali 2na Comin Thru 2020 Remix music video
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Official “1 year to Rio” event for Channel 7 + The Australian Olympic Committee
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Official “Welcome Home” events for the Australian Olympic Team + Paralympic team
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Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras (winner of Best Choreo 2015, runner up for Best Choreo 2016)
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Televised half-time show for the NRL Cronulla Sharks “Rio Round”
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Runway performances for Keune Australia’s Hair Show (2012-present)
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Chrysler Australia “World Cup” event at Crown Casino (Melbourne)
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Nespresso Ultimate Coffee Experience gala event
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Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange event at the Metro Theatre and more.
And more - From Veuve Clicquot and Camilla With Love to Canon and EA Sports, Sashya has worked with leading brands, performed in Sydney’s most iconic venues/precincts and alongside notable celebrity artists in including: Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Hordern Pavilion, Luna Park, Metro Theatre, The Factory Theatre, Carriageworks, Commbank Stadium, The Basement, Juniors Auditorium, The Star, Sydney Olympic Park, The Ivy, Darling Harbour, Bondi Pavilion, Nathalie Kelley, Chali 2na, Jason Derulo, James Arthur, Carlinhos Salgueiro, Evelyn Bastos, Todd McKenney, Afro Moses and more.
SASHYA'S ACHIEVEMENTS.
One of the most recognised Brazilian dance directors in the world, Sashya has been featured in major events, campaigns and a host of media in Australia and Brazil for her trailblazing work.
INTERVIEW - SUNRISE ON 7.
Sam Mac interviews Sashya on Channel 7 for the official launch of Rio Projekt’s stage production, The Carnaval Experience (2019).
INTERVIEW - GLOBO TV (BRAZIL).
Sashya being interviewed on Globo, Brazil’s largest national TV network, with the award winning Samba school, Paraiso do Tuiuti ahead of Rio Carnaval (2018).
CAMILLA CAMPAIGN.
Sashya featured in the official campaign video for the Camilla “From Rio With Love” Collection (2017).
AUSTRALIAN APPEARANCES.
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Australian Ninja Warrior
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Sunrise 7NEWS
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Channel 9 news
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Studio 10
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Fox Sports Australia
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SBS Australia
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SBS Portuguese
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The X Factor Australia
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The Daily Telegraph
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Sydney Morning Herald
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TVCs for Kia, Metamucil and Rapid Loss.
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Channel 7’s national announcement of their media rights to the 2016 Olympics
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Channel 7’s unveiling of the official FIFA World Cup 2014 Match Ball (The Adidas Brazuca)
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Fox 8 launch of The Adidas Brazuca.
Between 2016 and 2017, Sashya brought Carlinhos Salguerio, Evelyn Bastos and Kellyn Rosa—the Kings and Queens of Rio Carnaval—to Australia for the first time. In 2018 she launched the Australia Samba Congress which continued in 2019 and featured a stellar lineup of Brazilian artists including Patrick Carvalho, Rodrigo Marques, Carlinhos Salgueiro, Uillana Adaes, Gabriel Castro, Tiago Montalti, Rosangela Silvestre, Luana Bandeira, Matheus Oliverio, Mayara Santos, Vitor Art, Alex Coutinho, Jorge Amarello and Aninha Malandra.
BRAZILIAN APPEARANCES.
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Globo Television (Brasil’s largest national TV network) interview and feature on Samba Internacional
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Globo Television interview and feature on Paraiso do Tuiuti for Rio Carnaval 2018 and 2019
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Bandierantes TV feature on Salguerio for Rio Carnaval 2019
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Rio Carnaval Globo Television features on Salgueiro and Imperio Serrano 2019
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Dancing With The Stars, Brasil filmed at Imperio Serrano in February 2018
BEFORE RIO PROJEKT
Sashya was raised in Kingston, Jamaica with Afrocentric culture as her foundational influence. Starting out as a Music Journalist and Presenter in Australia, Sashya made her mark as a Concert Promoter and Tour Manager (1999-2015) for Coldplay, Will.I.Am, The Roots, Pharrell Williams, John Legend, Kanye West, Beck, De La Soul, Jurassic 5, U2 and more.
Sashya directed Melange World Dance Company from 2006-2009 then co-founded and creatively directed Rhythm Brazil from 2010-2017. Founding Rio Projekt in 2018 marked the culmination of her life’s work in the Music & Entertainment industry, both nationally and internationally. She is also the Founding Director of Escola de Samba Sydney and Samba Internacional.
THE ROAD TO RIO PROJEKT.
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Rio Projekt’s Founding Director Sashya Jay de Brito travelled to Brazil (Bahia and Rio) upon realising, through the rise of social media that the way Samba was being performed and represented in the Western world was a diluted, sanitised, and misrepresented version of what was actually happening in the streets and Samba schools of Brazil.
This realisation and journey marked the start of a process that not only set the foundation for Rio Projekt but transformed the entire Australian Brazilian Arts industry.
Drawing on her previous experience as a concert promoter and tour manager working with A-list artists - such as Coldplay, Kanye West, pharrell, and U2 - Sashya brought Grand Mestre Carlinhos Salguerio (King of Samba) to Australia for the first time ever to re-educate the Samba community and to train intensively with Carlinhos herself. With the permission of her Mestre, Sashya introduced Sydney to Passista technique through weekly classes.
She returned to Rio later that year to train with all of Rio’s major Samba experts including Samba Queen Evelyn Bastos. Sashya auditioned and was chosen to be a Passista (professional Samba dancer) of Imperio Serrano (one of Rio’s most historic Samba Schools) for Carnaval 2017. Sashya launched Samba Internacional (Educational YouTube) in October 2016 with Brazilian business partner Nubia Quele to foster the integrity of Samba culture.
Sashya returned to Rio with Nubia to parade in Rio Carnaval 2017 as an official Passistas for Imperio Serrano. In January they launched the first ever Samba Internacional tour taking Samba enthusiasts from Australia and USA to Rio for a grassroots experience of Samba culture (workshops and community events) and to parade in Carnaval.
Sashya brought Evelyn Bastos (Mangueira) and Kellyn Rosa (Salguiero) to Australia for workshops, tours, training and performances. By July Sashya’s Samba classes had become so popular that she officially launched a school: Escola de Samba Internacional (Sydney).
In May, she attended the International Samba Congress in Los Angeles, where she trained with Brazil’s masters and was officially accredited and endorsed by grandmaster Carlinhos Salgueiro to teach and represent his signature technique internationally. From November 2017 she spent three months in Brasil for intense immersion in Carnaval Culture and to train as an official Passista for three of Rio’s top Samba Schools.
Sashya paraded in the Rio Carnaval as an official Passista for Imperio Serrano, Paraiso do Tuiuti and Academicos do Salguerio, including the Champions Parade with both Tuiuti and Salgueiro. She was invited to be an instructor at the prestigious Brasil Samba Congress event in Rio and taught Samba amongst a line up of Brazil’s grand masters. In April 2018, Sashya presented the first ever Australia Samba Congress, bringing eight of Brasil’s dance masters to Sydney for a weekend of workshops and cultural immersion for the first time ever.
Rio Projekt was then launched by Sashya in March 2018 to bring the cultural integrity and elite calibre of Samba and Brazilian performing arts to Australia.
Sashya spent three months in Rio as a Passista of the three aforementioned schools, training and performing in shows and representing them in the Rio Carnaval, including the Champions parade with Salgueiro. She was an instructor at the renowned Brasil Samba Congress in Rio for the second time and presented the second Australia Samba Congress in Sydney in April, bringing eight of Brasil’s Dance Masters to Australia, many for the first time ever.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Sashya spent two months training and performing in Rio, parading as a Musa/Rainha das Passistas (Queen of Passistas) for Imperio Serrano and as a Passista for Tuiuti.
Sashya launched Escola de Samba branches in Canberra, Adelaide and Denver (USA). The school has over 140K+ followers on Instagram and is officially endorsed by Carlinhos Salgueiro.
The journey continues....