I feel so blessed to be in alignment with my purpose. Through the many ups and downs, I have been dancing and creating art that heals and brings light. My life is a Samba dance of “Balança Mas Não Cai,” which means swaying but not falling. It was such an honor, and it marked a time of recognition for my hard work and dedication to my art form, growth and a new mindset of living a life of limitless potential. I remember thinking, “Wow, this can’t be, I’m not someone who wins.”Īnd that was part of the lesson, was seeing my own self-doubt and overcoming my limited self-perception. I had never dreamed of winning, so the moment they announced my name, I was stunned. I entered the competition to push myself to train towards a goal and to be part of the very first national competition. The same week I shot the tutorial DVD I participated as a contestant in the first national Samba competition in Arizona and to my surprise, I won the title of “Rainha do Samba” (Samba Queen USA). I began to open myself up to creating and thinking bigger than I had ever imagined. With the support of 159 backers, I raised over 8K and it was through running the campaign that I realized how much I was supported and how much my work was needed. In 2015 I produced my first Samba instructional DVD “Brazilian Samba Basics with Gisella.” This project was made a reality through a successfully supported crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. I figured if I can share this joyful feeling and help others experience Samba as a way of healing and shifting energy from negative to positive then that is worth living for and that’s what I’m all about! When I came back to Los Angeles, I decided to give dance my all and share my love for Samba as much as possible. I attended UCLA World Arts & Cultures Dance program and studied abroad for a year of college in Brazil. I took a class in my hometown of Santa Cruz, California and I soon started to travel to Brazil and train more and more. I realized at that moment that my soul is one that is most lit when it Sambas! I couldn’t put aside my roots anymore I dedicated myself to the art of Samba from then on.

I was able to let go and be myself in a way I never felt before. For me, that moment was an awakening of my spirit. I remember instantly surrendering to the moment and connecting my heart, hips, and feet to the rhythm and suddenly people were taking notice and cheering. I entered the Samba Competition just for fun… and well, that night the Samba spirits took over. Around the time that I created my own team, my dad was back in town, and he took me to a local Brazilian Party. Dancing was always my main way of expressing myself and finding and creating community. We danced to Xuxa songs, and we would use the coffee table as our first stage.Īs we grew into tweens and teens, it turned to the hip-hop dance lifestyle, dancing in troops Flava Unit, Boom Squad, and Positive Vibes and creating my own team, G-Soul, in school. From a young age, my favorite thing to do with friends played music and dance around my living room together. As I grew up dance was always a way of life. When I missed my dad, I would just press play on my boom box and would let myself dance until I felt better. It was in that time that my passion for dance developed, and I learned to dance to heal the pain I was feeling through dance movement.Įxperiencing the transformative power of dance inspired me to dedicate my life to dance. At age seven my dad had to go live in Brazil for a few years, and it was very challenging growing up missing him. It was not about technique or being good, but just about dancing for fun, connection, and self-expression. My dad would put on his old Samba records as well as some classic Bob Marley, and we would dance our worries away.

My dad would hold me around my waist and sing “Samba Gisella.” As I did my baby steps, he would help me shift my weight and sway my hips from side to side, rocking to the samba beat he would make for me. My parents loved to dance with me in their arms like a baby, and I started dancing the Samba about the same time I was learning to walk. I have been dancing as long as I can remember. My passion is Samba, and my purpose is to share this joyful, healing art with the world. I am a Brazilian American dance artist, originally from Santa Cruz, currently living in Los Angeles. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there. Thanks for sharing your story with us Gisella. Today we’d like to introduce you to Gisella Ferreira.

A la samba meaning