JAMILDO ALENCAR (Dancer) was born in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil in 1983 where he began his dance career with the study of capoeira. In 1996, he worked with the Projeto Axé, in 1999, he joined the Gicá Young Dance Company directed by Marcelo Moacyr and in 2001, he joined the Balé Teatro Castro Alves. He has been with DanceBrazil since 2008.

LETICIA CARDOSO (Dancer) was born in Feira de Santana, Bahia and began her artistic career in 2001 when she joined the dance group Espaço Cultural Alagados. In 2004, she started her professional career, touring internationally with Balé Folclórico da Bahia. She has also danced with the Robson Correira Dance Company as well as with Daniela Mercury.

ESTEVAM COSTA (Dancer) was born in Salvador, Bahia and started dancing at the age of thirteen in a neighborhood dance studio and has been passionate about it ever since. At sixteen, he studied at the FUNDAC and then moved on to the Fundacão Cultural da Bahia where he studied all forms of dance including modern, ballet, jazz, Afro-Brazilian and capoeira.

JUNIOR COSTA (Capoeirista – aka Frajola) was born in São Paulo, SP, Brazil and began his Capoeira training in 1996 with a neighborhood group where he eventually became an assistant instructor. He later studied with Contra Mestre Guerreiro, Mestre Apache and most recently with Mestre Jelon. He has much experience teaching children capoeira, has participated in many capoeira competitions, winning the championship of the Goias Cup in 2007 and 2008.

CRISTIANE DE JESUS (Dancer) was born in Salvador, Bahia and started her dance training in 1993 studying classical ballet and modern dance at the Candolina Dance School in Salvador, Bahia. From 2001-2006 she performed and toured internationally with Balé Folclórico Da Bahia. In 2006, she was a dancer for the Brazilian popstar Daniela Mercury. Since 2007, Cristiane has worked with DanceBrazil, taking a leave from the company in 2009 to work with Dubax dance company in Germany.

CAMILA FREITAS (Rehearsal Director/Dancer) was born in Santo Amaro, Bahia. She started dancing at the age of seven at the Escola de Dança da Fundação Cultural do Estado da Bahia and graduated from the Royal Academy. She has studied ballet with Carlos Moraes, worked with Emilia Biancardi Ferreira, the Orquestra Afro Baiana do Pelourinho, Balé Teatro Castro Alves, Carlos Moraes’ Figuras da Dança, the São Paulo Companhia de Dança and popular music singers Ivete Sangalo, Carlinhos Brown and Parangolé. She was also a special guest in the Ateliê de Coreógrafos Brasileiros Ano V.

JORLAN GAMA (Dancer) was born in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil and began his study of dance at Project Living with Art Foundation Cultural Institute (ICEIA). He continued his dance training at the FUNCEB, a high school for performing arts. In 2011, he danced with Sarau do Brown (Carlinhos Brown) and also participated in the selective Grand Prix in Santos, Sao Paulo and the American Grand Prix in New York with Lúmina Dance Company.

ADEILTON REBEIRO (Dancer) was born in Salvador, Bahia and started dancing as part of a community group whose purpose was to get children off the street and into a positive environment. He entered the Fundacão Cultural da Bahia in 2002 where he studied many forms of dance. He danced with Balé Folclórico da Bahia from 2003 to 2007. In 2008, he lived in Paris where he danced in a Brazilian musical comedy but returned to Brazil in 2009 to rejoin Balé Folclórico da Bahia. He has also danced with the Robson Correia Dance Company and worked with the singer Carlinhos Brown.

RAPHAEL NOVAES (Capoeirista/Dancer – aka Fogo) was born in Rio de Janeiro. He started training Capoeira with Mestre Jelon when he was nine and currently studies ballet with Carlos Moraes. He has danced with Balé da Mata, EBATECA in the project “Mae Estrela Cano” at the Teatro Castro Alves and Perene’s Núcleo de Investigação Coreográfica. He has been a guest teacher for the Capoeira Foundation and at the Alvin Ailey Dance Center and at Capoeira events in Gainesville, FL, San Antonio and Houston, TX, and special guest at Project Exchange in Bahamas. Most recently he has toured with the band Harmonia do Samba, participated in the DVD do Parangolé, and worked with the singers Daniela Mercury and Carlinhos Brown.

LUÍZ ALBERTO SANTANA (Capoeirista – aka Vagalume) was born in Encarnaçào de Salinas, Bahia, Brazil, where he studied Capoeira with Mestre Jelon in a special program created by the Instituto de Artes Urbana da Bahia and DanceBrazil. Mr. Santana holds the rank of Instructor and today he is the leader of Instituto de Artes Urbana da Bahia under the supervision of Mestre Jelon. In 2005, he began working with DanceBrazil as an understudy and participated in a conference for young people organized by UNICEF in Trinidad. He was a special guest at Project Exchange in Bahamas and has also danced with Balé Folclórico da Bahia. This makes Mr. Santana’s seventh year with DanceBrazil.

JADSON NASCIMENTO (Capoeirista –aka Sorriso) is twenty-five years old and started studying Capoeira when he was ten. He joined Balé Folclórico da Bahia in 2007 and performed with the company until 2010. This is his first year with DanceBrazil.

ARISMAR SOUZA JUNIOR (Dancer) is from Salvador, Bahia. His dance training includes four years of study with Bale Folclórico da Bahia in Salvador. He has also toured internationally with the company for two years. For the last three years, he has toured with pop singer Daniela Mercury.