Forró dance clases

Gilmar Lopes is a forró teacher with a contagious passion for dance. With years of experience, he has become an emblematic figure in his region teaching Forró de Salão and Samba de Gafieira. Her teaching approach deftly blends traditional techniques with modern elements, providing students with a deep understanding of the history and evolution of this popular Brazilian dance style. In addition to his dynamic and engaging classes, Gilmar is known for his unique ability to create a welcoming and inclusive environment where dancers of all levels feel welcome and encouraged to explore their potential. His dedication to preserving the authenticity of forró, combined with his innovative vision, solidifies his role as one of the main ambassadors of this rich cultural tradition. Its impact extends beyond the classroom, inspiring a new generation of dance lovers to connect with forró's roots and incorporate their passion for dance into their lives.

Forró de Salão

In love with Forró for 7 years, also passionate about teaching and passing on this joy that is dancing! 

Forró roots teacher 

Luiza Barbieri’s life has been intertwined with dance from an early age, serving as her primary means of establishing relationships with herself, others, and the world. At the age of 3, she began with ballet, delving into numerous rhythms. In 2018, she fell in love with forró and started her studies in social dances. She was a dancer in the Aruanda Group of Traditional Dances and studied Modern Dance with Isabel Costa (Grupo Corpo’s co-founder). For this reason, she brings influences from the Isadora Duncan and Klaus Vianna Technique into her Forró Dance Classes.

As a forró teacher, Luiza aims to bring a perspective of dance as a non-verbal means of communication, in other words, a form of organic connection that arises from the assemblage of bodies, music, and environment. Thus, through dancing, we establish a dialogue, listening to each other with care, curiosity, and attention – developing the ability to commune, to adapt through improvisation and creativity.

At the same time, she proposes intertextuality, incorporating elements from “Traditional Dances” (coco, carimbó, maracatu, afoxé, frevo, and a myriad of our Brazilian cultural expressions) and other social dances. After all, in the end, style is just attire for those who know how to speak...

May this profile bring a bit of the flavor that a “cherô” and a “pão de queijo” hold within.

Discover a world where dialogue is established through dance, cultivating care, curiosity, and attention.

Forró Dance Classes with Matieri

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she studied advertising and fine arts, Cokelicô comes from a family of musicians with a mother who is a dancer. From an early age, she found herself immediately engrossed in the performing arts.

Her journey is captivating, starting as a young samba dancer at the age of 5 in the Salgueiro samba school. She later dedicated herself to ballroom dancing.

In 2014 in France, she had her first experience as a teacher of popular Brazilian dances at the MJC in the city of Sète, where she taught for two years. After moving to Montpellier, she turned her attention to Tango. Influenced by a group of Brazilian musician friends, she gravitated towards Forró. With a shortage of leading dancers, she committed to learning how to lead. During her frequent trips back to Brazil, she honed her skills and pedagogically trained to teach Forró. In Rio de Janeiro, she received scholarships from renowned dance schools like KVS and Simas Dança, and initiated the gender-neutral dance project Danse+ where she taught Forró classes.

Cokelicô’s journey serves as a testament to the power of a passion for the arts and a commitment to inclusivity. She is not just a dancer or a teacher; she is an ambassador of Brazilian culture and an advocate for “Harassment-Free Forró” and gender-neutral dancing. Coklicô has managed to transcend traditional boundaries, continually adapting and evolving in her art.

Cokelicô Fulô

Forró class; body awareness; musicality; double role; shared conducting

Arthur Lorenzo is a talented and passionate dancer, teacher, and choreographer of forró who has made a name for himself in the forró community in Brazil and abroad. He is also a proud transgender man and has become an important voice and advocate for the LGBTQ+ community in the world of forró.

Born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Arthur discovered his love for forró dance at the age of 14 when he participated in a social event at his school, Pé Descalço. As a transgender man, he faced many challenges and obstacles in his passion for dance. However, he refused to let these obstacles hinder him, becoming a role model and inspiration for other LGBTQ+ dancers and artists.

Since then, Arthur has dedicated his life to learning and teaching forró and has become one of the most sought-after instructors in Brazil and the world. He started as a scholarship student at Pé Descalço and quickly excelled, reaching the highest level (Vermelha) as a follower and the second highest level (Preta Avançada) as a leader. In 2017, he became a teacher at the school and remained on the team until 2019 when he decided to pursue a solo career.

Arthur has extensively traveled throughout Brazil and Europe, teaching forró workshops at events, festivals, and schools. He has taught workshops in cities such as Brasília, São Paulo, Viçosa, Salvador, Itaúnas, Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte in Brazil, as well as in England, Germany, Switzerland, and Russia. His dynamic and engaging teaching style, combined with his deep knowledge and love for forró, has made him a favorite among students and organizers.

In addition to teaching and performing in forró, Arthur is also a successful choreographer. He has created various routines for groups and couples, including choreographies for competitions and shows. His innovative and creative approach to choreography, combined with his technical excellence, has earned him praise and recognition from the forró community.

Arthur is also a frequent participant in forró events and festivals, both in Brazil and abroad. He has performed and taught workshops at festivals such as Forró Fest UK, Festival de Forró de Itaúnas, and many others. His performances are always a highlight of these events, and his workshops are in high demand.

Despite his busy schedule, Arthur is committed to continuing his own education and development as a dancer and teacher. He has been studying the roots style of forró and is excited to continue exploring and developing that style. He is also committed to sharing his knowledge and passion for forró with others and is always eager to connect with new students, organizers, and forró fans.

If you are looking for a talented and inspiring forró teacher, choreographer, or artist, look no further than Arthur Lorenzo. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced dancer, he has the knowledge, experience, and passion to help you take your forró skills to the next level. Contact him today to learn more about his workshops, performances, and other events.

About him

Forró Dance Classes 

Luís Dalí is a passionate forró- and samba-dancer, originally from Belo Horizonte, Brasil. Over the years, he developed a unique and unconventional style of teaching, which focuses on the social aspects of dance and on the creativity and authenticity of each dancer. Social dance it's a gem of an art form and for Luís this benefits should and will be easily accessible, even in the first class.

Currently nomad, in a non-stop 4 years tour, teaching all over Europe.

Forró and Samba de Gafieira Workshops and Private classes

Forró, Samba, Dance Classes, Samba de Gafieira, Dance, Dança, Private Classes, Workshops

Lili started exploring her passion for music and dance at the age of 6. After years of practicing classical and modern dance, she discovered Brazilian culture through samba no pé classes in Tours, France where she grew up. Upon arriving in Toulouse in 2017, she discovered Forró, a traditional Brazilian dance that became her main focus of study and passion.

Alongside her dance studies, Lili continued to perfect her music skills. She joined one of the local forró groups as a percussionist and singer. Currently, she is pursuing her studies in languages and pedagogy at the university, specializing in teaching French as a foreign language.

Since 2021, she has been giving private Forró classes as well as occasional group classes in Toulouse and across Europe. In 2022, she took advantage of her trip to Brazil to further her education under renowned teachers in Belo Horizonte (Icaro Abreu, Luiz Henrique) and Salvador (Mardio and Milena). She also participated in the Itaunas festival for the first time. Upon her return, she began giving regular Forró roots group classes in Toulouse.

During her classes, Lili passionately shares her love for both leading and following roles. She combines her knowledge of dance, music and pedagogy to help dancers to develop their body awareness and freedom of movement when dancing in pairs. She emphasizes the importance of sensitivity, musicality, and connection in learning forró. Her pedagogical approach is based on "feeling", which consists in developing a dance based on self-knowledge, kindness, and connection with one's partner.

About her

Matheus Pessoa - artist and forró teacher - has a rich journey that interwines with the arts, shaping his unique path in dance. He immersed himself deeply in the studies of forró as a dancer and percussionist. He found a way to connect with the culture and stories through the music and people that this social dance carries within. Additionally, Matheus became the co-founder of the inspiring "Forró na Praça" project alongside with his partner, Luiza Barbieri. Together, they harnessed energy and love for forró to create a safe environment for celebration and learning, where people of all ages can come together and dance under the open sky, sharing the joy of this social dance.

As a forró teacher, Matheus aims to bring a perspective of dance as a non-verbal means of communication, in other words, a form of organic connection that arises from the assemblage of bodies, music, and environment. Thus, through dancing, we establish a dialogue, listening to each other with care, curiosity, and attention – developing the ability to commune, to adapt through improvisation and creativity.

At the same time, she proposes intertextuality, incorporating elements from “Traditional Dances” (Coco, Carimbó, Maracatu, Afoxé, Frevo, and a myriad of our Brazilian cultural expressions) and other social dances. After all, in the end, style is just attire for those who know how to speak...

A teacher from Rio de Janeiro, formed by Forró do Rio Dance Group, taught by Luiz Henrique, and is experienced in ballroom dancing at the schools Jaime
Arôxa and Jimmy de Oliveira. He began to study dance in 2000, and in 2014 he decided to start his own group called Forró New Roots and gave regular classes with Aurya Pires at Espaço Mosaico (RJ – Brazil).

In 2015 he made
his first tour in Europe participating in the biggest festivals of the
old continent. 

In 2017, he created and implemented the methodology "New Roots", structuring
his entire pedagogical project. In the same year, he created the Forró ForrAll
Project, a non-profit cultural and social
project, where more than 300 students met every Sunday, in a public square in
the city of Rio de Janeiro. During 2 years, more than 5 000 students were part of the project.

In 2018, he was crowned with the
invitation to teach at the Forró Festival in Itaúnas – FENFIT, the largest
Forró Pé de Serra festival in Brazil.

In the same
year, in December, the year finished with a flourishing opening of his own dancing school the Center of Arts New Roots.

In 2019, he
focused his career on his own school, performing several dance events
in the space, such as Zouk Needs You Course and Zoukamp, ​​Workshop with Felipe Abreu, and several shows
and events with Moyseis Marques, Forró de Pife and Lucas Ferraz.

In January 2020, the New Roots Arts Center hosted another edition of the Zouk Needs
You Course and Zoukamp events, as well as produced several parties.

This
year he was preparing for another tour to Europe, but with the coronavirus, he
was forced to cancel his tour and decided to move permanently to Germany,
teaching workshops in Cologne, Magdeburg, and Hannover.

In 2021 with the Corona Virus under control, he was able to refocus on his
dance classes with regular groups in Hannover and give workshops in Bremen
and Münster (Germany). He also organized the #Forró Festival in the city of
Hannover, returning to heat up and promote the forró scene in the city.

In 2022, he decided to move to Hamburg giving regular classes of Samba and Forró, and also organizing his Festival #Forró, already in the 4th edition.

Forró Universitario And Roots Style

Raul Porto is a highly regarded Brazilian dance teacher with more than two decades of experience teaching various styles of ballroom dance. He started his dance journey in 1999 and has since become an expert in the Jaime Aroxa methodology, which includes popular dance styles such as bolero, samba de gafieira, forró universitário, soltinho, tango, salsa, zouk, chá chá chá, and more. As one of the top teachers in the Jaime Arôxa franchise, Raul has taught dance classes for seven years and has learned from renowned national and international teachers.

In recent years, Raul has developed a particular passion for forró roots, which he discovered in late 2017. Since then, he has become a specialist in this style and has researched the broader culture of forró extensively. Raul has participated in many forró roots festivals across Brazil and in other Latin American countries such as Colombia and Argentina, where he has studied and experienced the local forró scene.

To promote forró roots further, Raul and other leading names in the scene, such as Mari Brasil and Daniel Marinho, have launched a project called aprendaroots. The project offers free online content about forró roots, and it has already attracted many people worldwide. Raul is delighted to see the project growing and is thrilled to have the opportunity to share his passion for forró roots with new audiences around the world.

Raul has taught dance classes in at least eight Brazilian states and two other Latin American countries. He is excited to travel more and share his expertise in ballroom dance and forró roots with people worldwide. If you're looking for a Brazilian dance teacher who is passionate about ballroom dance and forró roots, look no further than Raul Porto.

Forró Teacher

Heitor Libânio 37 years old Brazilian since he was little influenced by forró, as he grew up in a family of Forrozeiros in the interior of Brazil - Rondonópolis.

At just 8 years old, he accompanied his grandmother to forró dances on Sunday afternoons, and there where he learned his first forró step.

At the age of 15, he moved to Brasilia with his mother where he continued his studies and his contact with forró increased.

He frequented forró often and like many Brazilians he developed his own style and character in forró.

After years of forró and finishing college of administration. Participates in projects to teach people to find their way in forró not only teaching the necessary bases but also other important elements for a good dance for example: rhythm, motor coordination, body isolation, musicality, creativity in dance and much more etc...

In his recent project he decides to add more essence, soul, heart to dance, something deeper beyond the physical senses we are used to. And for that, he moves to Germany where he starts a 4-year course in Eurytmie. Today he is currently attending his third year of course and at the same time teaches Forró in the city of Witten- Germany.

He has already been teaching forró in Brazil, USA, Germany, Switzerland, England, Russia, Italy and still has a lot to teach in this Forrozeiro world.

Teacher and Choreographer festival classes, in groups, private, presentations. Forró, zouk, musicality, connection, rhythm, sensitivity, dance therapy

Forró dance Class 

Professora há mais de 20 anos, dos mais diversos ritmos de Dança de Salão. Carioca com muito samba no pé, e pernambucana de coração e dançarina de forró!

I come from São Paulo Brazil, from a family that dances traditional samba and samba rock; since I was a little child I have been involved with dance. Samba &amp; Samba rock was never my true passion however I still enjoyed it, just wasn’t fully in love with it. I danced samba rock with my family until 1990, when a famous lambada singer – Beto Barbosa started playing in São Paulo and I really loved the style of the dance with more rhythm then a traditional samba. I also danced other Latin styles as Axé &amp; Brazilian zouk, but still something was missing. In 1997 I learned about the clubs called Centro Cultural Elenko KVA, Canto da Ema &amp; Remelexo Brasil that were playing a new style of music from the Northeastern culture and that style was called Forró. I started learning how to dance this new dance movement by myself and going to the nights &amp; practicing at home. Slowly using the moves that I learned at home by watching other dancers, I started to put into practice by starting my night at Canto da Ema, then straight to Remelexo and once that closed I would go to KVA to finish the night. My passion was found. Since then, I am constantly working on perfecting my universitário style and combine other forró styles and all my previous dance experiences to enrich Forró. I live &amp; teach in London, founder of FORROZEAR UK group and is associated with other Forró groups such as Forró de Nice and others... I am also Co-founder of Forró de Sexta UK. And I would like to leave a confession over here... i am so passionate about Forró that, once the music starts playing I don't stop dancing until the last song ends!!!!!!! Aiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!

Follow on Instagram the project Forrozear_uk  (@Forrozear_uk) to know more about events, classes, workshops and more!!!!!

Forró dance classes

Hi there :) I am one more from the amazing forró teachers in the world. Since 2009 studying couple dances and developing my Roots style in Itaúnas-Es and Festivals. I come from Vitória-Es, what's gave me the opportunity to live the Itaúnas Forró Festival 2x every year for long time :)&nbsp;

Really passionate for forró! I like to teach about the difference between styles, go deep in concepts, contents and in every style of dance, teach and study together about the music and different genders of the tree that it's the "Forró Pé de Serra". Talk about frequencies, connexions, musicality, respect and good exchanges are some of my topics :)&nbsp;

I hope to dance and share more with you soon S2

We are one with much to learn from our other selves around the world :)

Dance Teacher & Dj

Follows me in Instagram to can we know us better :)

Forró Roots & Universitário 

Rafael began his journey in dance in 2009. Throughout these years, he sought contact with various rhythms such as Samba, Bolero, Zouk, WCS, Bachata, Tango, and Salsa to incorporate techniques into his dance and enrich his specialty: Forró!

Within the Pé Descalço School, one of the most recognized Forró schools in the world, Rafael has been:

He has gone through all the levels (degrees) of the school.

Always considering his responsibility as a disseminator of knowledge, he felt it was time for a new step, and in 2019, he also started his solo project: Forró com o Wilker (@forrocomowilker - www.forrocomowilker.com)!

Rafael has built a reputation for bringing technical knowledge and clarity to dance: innovations, cleanliness, fluency, figures, movements that explore dynamism and senses. He has also stood out for his musicality and improvisation. He values lively and fun classes and, most importantly, he brings content to his dance, not only as leisure but as something greater, stronger, that heals, brings joy, and changes lives (therapy). In his journey as a teacher, he has already conducted various workshops/festivals in several cities and states in Brazil, including São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Piauí, Pernambuco, Bahia, and, of course, Minas Gerais!

In addition to teaching at the main international workshops/festivals:

Europe | Portugal, Germany, France, Belarus, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Ireland, Turkey(...)

United States | Boston, Miami, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose...

Russia | Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Siberia

Teachers

Pia & PC

Gilmar Santos Lopes

Raoni Santana

Luiza Barbieri

Cokelicô Fulô

Arthur Lorenzo

Luís Dalí

Lili

Matheus Pessoa

Miguel Gomes

Raul Porto

Heitor Libânio

Adriana Ianino

Cleiton Lima

Ricelli Pinheiro

Rafael Wilker

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