Meet your DIRETORA DE CHOCALHO

Lizzie is the Diretora de Chocalho at Império da Rainha. She has been involved in the London samba scene since 2015. After moving to London to study jazz saxophone, she joined Rhythms of the City (ROTC), where she studied, performed and toured internationally for seven years.

In 2023, Lizzie spent six months in Rio de Janeiro deepening her knowledge of samba. This culminated in her parading in the grupo especial parade at the sambadrome with Porto da Pedra and performing with Caçique de Ramos. Since then, she has returned to Rio annually to parade with Porto da Pedra and take part in rehearsals and performances with a range of other escolas de samba and blocos.

Lizzie runs her own nine-piece Brazilian group, Leoa, for which she arranges and writes original music inspired by a wide range of Brazilian musical traditions. She also plays surdo in Pocket Bloco, is part of the caixa section at Bloco X and is regularly involved in pagode in and around London.

With 17 years of experience teaching music to people of all ages, Lizzie brings together her educational background and passion for samba in her role at Império da Rainha.