OUR FAMILY OF MASTER TEACHERS
NOSSA FAMÍLIA DE MESTRES
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ROSANGELA SILVESTRE
Mentor
An invaluable part of the Bloco Afro Ayédùn leadership, Silvestre has witnessed the continued evolution of our programs from that start. Silvestre is a choreographer, instructor, dancer and creator of the Silvestre Dance Technique, and is a native of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, where she graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Dance. Her post-graduate work specialized in choreography, and she earned her degree from the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA).
She has researched dance and music in Brazil, India, Egypt, Senegal and Cuba as part of her ever-evolving and eclectic palette of movement. She choreographed numerous dance pieces for companies based in Brazil—Balé Folclorico da Bahia and Odunde—as well as Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Company, Ballet Hispanico Repertory Company, American Academy of Ballet, Roots of Brazil, Dance Brazil, Viver Brazil, Muntu Dance Theater, Kendra Kimbrough Dance Company and Moving Spirits, Inc.
Her dance investigation and constant development created an opportunity to connect with the eclectic American musician Steve Coleman, with whom she traveled to diverse countries which have African roots in their music and dance. With Steve Coleman, Rosangela developed an idea to have the body as an instrument that provides the movement-form of any sound that can be captured, thereby discovering and creating dance at any moment. Rosangela’s use of her voice is an integral part of her work in dance. In September 2011, she completed the CD: Voices of Nature’ recorded and produced by Mike Zecchino at The Nail Recording Studio in Tucson, Arizona.
MESTRE JELON
Inspirador
Words cannot describe the influence and inspiration that Mestre Jelon Vieira has had in the creation and continuation of Bloco Afro Ayédùn
Mestre Jelon, founder of Capoeira Luanda, is a world-renowned master and teacher of capoeira. Born in Santo Amaro da Purificação, Bahia, Brazil, in 1953, he started learning capoeira Angola at the age of 10 with Mestre Emerito and later with Mestre Bobô. In 1969, he met Mestre Eziquiel, with whom he studied capoeira regional. He also had the honor of attending classes at Mestre Bimba’s academy.
In 1977, Vieira and the late Loremil Machado formed the Capoeiras of Bahia (later changed to DanceBrazil at the suggestion of Alvin Ailey), the first to bring traditional Afro-Brazilian dance and capoeira to the United States. As artistic director of the Capoeira Foundation and DanceBrazil, Vieira has devoted more than 30 years to bringing electrifying performances to audiences in the United States, Brazil, Asia and Europe.
Vieira has taught capoeira at numerous prestigious colleges across the United States. As a guest master at universities including Yale, Harvard, Stanford and Princeton, Vieira has immersed his students in not only the techniques of capoeira, but also in the philosophy surrounding the art form. For Vieira, capoeira is more than art, but a way of life. In 2008, the National Endowment for the Arts honored Vieira’s dedication to educating diverse audiences on his culture and capoeira, as well as his commitment to giving back to under-resourced communities with a National Heritage Fellowship.
OUR PROFESSORS
NOSSA PROFESSORES
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NILDINHA FONSECA
Professor and Cultural Activist
Nildinha Fonseca is a Mother, Black woman and master's student in dance at UFBA. Fonseca is a dance teacher, researcher of dances of African matrix and Brazilian folklore, choreographer and dancer. She is the assistant director and choreographer of the Folkloric Ballet of Bahia and soloist with the company. She is responsible for training the company in modern dance techniques. Coordinator of the Balé Jr. course from Balé Folclórico da Bahia. Artistic director/coordinator of the project Encontro dos Artistes Candomblecist, Fonseca has extensive touring experience performing in Brazil, throughout Europe, and in over 120 cities in the United States, Australia, Mexico and Canada.
JOSÉ RICARDO SOUSA
Professor and Cultural Preserver
José Ricardo Sousa is a master percussionist and preserver of traditional African-Brazilian music and dance. He is the musical director, composer, musician and instructor of traditional Afro-Brazilian dance and music for Bahia’s celebrated company, the Balé Folclórico da Bahia. José Ricardo started his arts career in percussion and dance under the tutelage of Mestre King at the SESC School of the Arts in 1985. José Ricardo has toured and taught in Brazil, Europe and in more than 120 cities in the United States, Australia, Malaysia, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Canada, Togo and Benin. José Ricardo received the prestigious Lester Horton award for excellence in music for dance in 2009 with Luiz Badaró and Mario Pallais.
VERA PASSOS
Professor and Cultural Preserver
Vera Passos graduated from the Federal University of Bahia as a Dance Major. She danced in various companies including África Poesia, Companhia de Dança Jorge Silva and was a soloist for the acclaimed Bale Folclórico da Bahia. In 1992, she started she started her studies of Silvestre Technique, with the creator Rosangela Silvestre, deepening her theoretical and practical research. In 2002, Passos began to apply the technique at the Dance School of the Cultural Foundation of Bahia.
Passos choreographed the Orquestra Popular da Bahia, conducted by the pioneering ethnomusicologist, Emilia Biancardi. Additionally, Passos participated in the film "Terra em Transe" with Italian musician, Aldo Brizzi. She also danced at the Opera, "Lídia de Oxum", choreographed by Carlos Morais. Passos choreographed works such as Rompimento (1999), Oração (2005), and Triângulo (2007) producing experimental dance performances in co-production with O Kontra, an experimental jazz musical group, directed by Nei Sacramento. In 2010, Passos was invited by Linda Yudin and Luiz Badaró, to act as a dancer, teacher and choreographer at Viver Brasil Dance Company, based in Los Angeles CA. She has continued her artistic residency, reassembling shows, creating new pieces, and has assumed the role of Associate Artistic Director. Vera Passos actively teaches Silvestre Technique seminars and Symbols of the Orixás Dances, in the United States, Europe, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.
BIRA MONTEIRO
Professor and Cultural Preserver
Bira Monteiro