Hola Familia. This is my first little post about my Brazil experience thus far! So I've been here for a about a week and this is my first Saturday where I have time hang out at home and write a bit. This past week has been totally amazing. I have been taking dance classes 4-7 hours everyday for the past week! And I love it. The woman that is running the dance intensive that I am in is named Rosangela Silvestre. She is from Salvador, Brazil and is now a famous dance teacher and choreographer. She is an incredible woman, incredibly strong, very intense and fiery and very disciplined and dedicated in what she does and her commitment to living a full and embodied life. She is very inspiring. I don't think I've ever seen anyone with such a deep and intense presence. Her gaze is like laser beams. So, I've been taking her technique classes, some ballet class (my first ballet experience) and then the dances of the Orixas. The Orixas are the gods and goddesses that originate from the Candomble religion that is here in Brazil. This religion is African based, coming from Yoruba people. It comes from the same roots as Santeria that is practiced in Cuba. Here, it is practiced by devotees who have a certain god or goddess that they worship in particular. A way that they are worshipped is through dance. During ceremonies, the devotees will dance the dance of their Orixa in devotion and they can be overtaken by the spirit of the Orixa, like a trance. I haven't seen this happen yet but tomorrow I'm going to a ceremony for the Orixa Oxala. I'm pumped! So, the dances of the Orixas have been great, really intense and fast paced since we were working with the Orixa Ogun all week, who is the warrior Orixa and so the dance is very fast paced and fierce! So the days are pretty full and I love being in dance class for this much time. I can feel myself getting stronger and more aware of my body, which is fantabulous. The beach is 15 minutes away by bus so I only have been once on the day that I arrived and I have some pictures from that but my computer isn't letting me download pictures right now for some reason! So until next time for that.... I've met some incredible people along the way. I'm living with two girls who are professional dancers in NYC and we've been getting along really well. There is also a girl in our house from Argentina so I've been the house translator which is awesome because I get to practicar mi espanol. There is a lovely woman from Brixton, England who is in our friend circle who has been a big inspiration and influence on me thus far. She is a lovely spirit and a flower essence therapist and flower designer and has been a great person to talk with. Another angel in my life fa sho. <3 Yes yes so things are going very well. We went out on Tuesday night this past week and it is insane. Every Tuesday Salvador literally has a party the size of a New Years Eve party. Totally Loco. Like everyone dancing in the streets, the Olodum band leading a parade down and up the cobble stone roads at like 3 am and this happens EVERY Tuesday. Totally loco but amazing. People know how to enjoy themselves here! The pace is a lot slower too. Us dancers from the States look like total foreigners and we pound our feet on the way to class at 8 am as everyone else is standing by their doorways and gazing at the awakening town. And it's funny because we have to wear black to all of our classes so we look even more tough in our all black outfits and sunglasses on our way to dance our booties off. It's fun. There are a lot of awesome and inspiring people within this dance community and their extended friends. I feel like I am in really good hands and I have people that I can ask for advice and resources to make my time here full. I am getting in touch with a Portuguese teacher soon!!!! which is needed but it's also cool because my spanish helps me a lot but I am really excited to learn Portuguese because I love the way it sounds and I'm just stoked to learn another idioma. <3 Okedokey. Catch whoever you are on the flipside the next time I write? Blogz are weerd! But I hope you learn something from my writing and maybe you will make a connection that will inspire you! If you're a dancer, check out Rosangela Silvestre because shes a total bad ass! <3 Ciao. Beijos.
Heres some links to give you a sense about what Im doing!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6acWOMTrts&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLIa_XQVeBc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_BiVu1KTRM
Enjoy! <3 <3 <3
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