Meet Gisella Ferreira of Samba Soul Dance Company & Global Dance Arts

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gisella Ferreira.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Gisella. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am a Brazilian American dance artist, originally from Santa Cruz, currently living in Los Angeles.

My passion is Samba, and my purpose is to share this joyful, healing art with the world. I have been dancing as long as I can remember. 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. 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 dad would put on his old Samba records as well as some classic Bob Marley, and we would dance our worries away. It was not about technique or being good, but just about dancing for fun, connection, and self-expression. 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 in that time that my passion for dance developed, and I learned to dance to heal the pain I was feeling through dance movement.

Experiencing the transformative power of dance inspired me to dedicate my life to dance. When I missed my dad, I would just press play on my boom box and would let myself dance until I felt better. As I grew up dance was always a way of life. From a young age, my favorite thing to do with friends played music and dance around my living room together. We danced to Xuxa songs, and we would use the coffee table as our first stage.

As 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. Dancing was always my main way of expressing myself and finding and creating community. Around the time that I created my own team, my dad was back in town, and he took me to a local Brazilian Party. I entered the Samba Competition just for fun… and well, that night the Samba spirits took over.

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. For me, that moment was an awakening of my spirit. I was able to let go and be myself in a way I never felt before. 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 started training. 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 attended UCLA World Arts & Cultures Dance program and studied abroad for a year of college in Brazil. 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 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!

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. 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. I began to open myself up to creating and thinking bigger than I had ever imagined.

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 entered the competition to push myself to train towards a goal and to be part of the very first national competition. I had never dreamed of winning, so the moment they announced my name, I was stunned. I remember thinking, “Wow, this can’t be, I’m not someone who wins.”

And that was part of the lesson, was seeing my own self-doubt and overcoming my limited self-perception. 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. My life is a Samba dance of “Balança Mas Não Cai,” which means swaying but not falling.

Through the many ups and downs, I have been dancing and creating art that heals and brings light. I feel so blessed to be in alignment with my purpose. I feel so grateful to get to do what I love and to get to share it with others on a daily basis is the most wonderful experience. Every smile that Samba brings is a direct achievement. Every spirit that is uplifted by Samba is my inspiration to keep going.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The life of an artist is almost never easy; however, it’s worth it because it’s heart, purpose, and passion driven.

When I first finished college, I was living the gritty struggle of the artist paradigm here in LA. Then I was able to build a following of dedicated students who grew, not only in the enjoyment of samba, but also grew from the healing and spiritual aspect I was able to offer. There are still moments where it is a struggle but the reward of the relationships with my students and seeing them find their joy and grow is worth the sacrifice.

Making a living as an artist is a challenge, constantly creating new approaches allows me to make things work. My creativity allows me to adapt to change. I see life as a constant unfolding of learning, expansion, and growth. At one point, two years ago, I felt called to open my own art space to be able to create and share with the community on a larger scale. It was an ambitious journey to being a first-time business owner, but I decided to go for it, and I opened the Global Dance Arts studio in Marina Del Rey.

I believed in myself, and our success was due to the many others that believed in me as well, we made it happen, and by we, I mean the Global Dance Arts community. It was a beautiful experience that has shaped me and taught me many invaluable lessons. Most of all, it taught me that what truly matters in life are the people you connect with as you dance along the way. Opening the studio made me realize how supported I am and how the beautiful community that surrounds me is a testament to my life’s work in LA these past 12 years.

The soul fulfilling feeling of a strong community coming through and giving nothing but love is priceless, and that’s what I experienced when I opened the doors. There were many challenges that came up in running the studio; I had no idea how hard it was just to have teachers show up and be on time and be inspired to work together to build community. I learned this lesson from one of my mentors Mestre Amen of Capoeira Batuque as I was building my Samba class 10 years ago. I remember feeling discouraged when the class was empty, and he would tell me to “trust and keep building.”

Now I pass that along to others, that any time you start something new, there will be ups and downs, there will be days when nobody comes, but you just have to hold space for people. At Global Dance Arts I ended up being the main teacher, as well as director and owner, which was way more than I had planned on and it was a huge undertaking, and I’m so grateful for all the wonderful people who came through and helped me. What I learned from this experience is that I have an incredible team of people dancing with me and supporting, catching me when I fall.

I truly can’t say “Thank you” enough to my family, friends, and students for all the support through the studio and onward to where I am today. Realizing the dream of the studio made me see I can indeed do anything I set my mind to accomplish. In Spring 2017, one year after opening Global Dance Arts, I suffered through the lesson of losing the physical studio space. It was a heartbreak on many levels. The building we were in needed work, and rather than fixing the damages the landlord gave our lease away.

I felt the rug was swept from under me and the community I had worked so hard to build successfully. Against all the odds somehow we had been making it until that point. The lease was the one thing I realized I could not control; thus I had to let it go. The thing that was the most challenging about closing was the tremendous feeling of loss. The loss of a space that felt like my home, the business I had worked tirelessly to build day in and day out, and the loss of my own self-confidence.

The whole experience of closing shook me to my core. Everything just seemed to fall apart and crumble beneath me. I lost many students in the transition from the studio in Marina Del Rey to teaching in Venice that I truly miss dancing with and seeing their smiles. After closing, it was a challenge just to wake up and get out of bed, and not have the studio to go to anymore. That studio had become my life for that year. I felt broken and lost without a place to go and dance.

I felt I let my community down and sad about the loss of the space as well as everything else that followed. The beautiful thing that came from this experience was me being free of the heavy stress of running a studio full time on my own. I was so caught up in running the business; I didn’t see the toll it was taking on me. Now, with over a year of perspective gained since closing, I can see how the business was wearing on my spirit and creativity in many ways, due to the high intensity of my constant workload.

I was not able to focus on my art as much as I wanted to, just due to being exhausted and overwhelmed by working non-stop. Once I got some time to reflect, I realized the loss was a heavy weight being lifted off my shoulders as I let go and to find solid ground again. I see now that it’s all part of the journey and that my purpose is really to share my love of dance as much as possible in many spaces in the LA community and around the world.

Today, I can say I am grateful for all that I have experienced, the good and the bad and all the lessons along the way have helped me build character. I have learned how to gracefully strut away from all that no longer serves me and how to transition my life to what’s next. I have learned the invaluable lesson of picking myself up off the floor when things don’t turn out as planned and to value the connections that prevail through ups and downs.

I learned the invaluable lesson of what it means to show up for people and have them show up for you. When I opened the space, I met people who loved and supported me through the process. I am so grateful to everyone who has been there, lifting me up along the journey. In our last week open the phrase “these walls do not define us” was part of our daily mantra. I would like to give a shout out to my community of supporters. Thank you for believing in me and inspiring me to keep going!

Thank you to my die-hard students who stuck with me and danced through it all, my Samba students, my “Zumba Warriors,” my fantastic friends, my Samba Soul Dance Company, my loving and supportive mama Carrol for believing in my dream and making sure I went for it. Thank you to the one person who was there for me every day we were open, making sure I was safe, helping me stay motivated, pushing me to try new ways of reaching out to the community and talking me through the roughest of days at the studio, Jonathan of Hundred Jet’s Boxing Club.

I have learned that it’s through stumbling and falling apart and then lifting ourselves up and facing our fears and our challenges that we allow ourselves to grow and unfold into our full potential and rediscover what lights us up. There are blessings in the lessons and the shifts. After closing the space, I was able to find two wonderful, supportive spaces in Venice, Shape90291 and the Electric Lodge. Special shout out to Dr. Carmine owner at Shape90291 for all the support this past year as I rebuilt in Venice.

I have been doing a lot of reflection this past year and have refocused my energy to dedicating myself to artistic development and creativity for my Samba School, Samba Soul, as well as my classes that I offer to the local community. My focus now is on how I can best serve my community sharing my joy through healing dance with as many people who need it as possible. I live my life dancing to overcome challenges, and I am honored to share this gift with others.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Samba Soul Dance Company & Global Dance Arts – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I specialize in the art of Samba, Global Dance and Samba Fitness. I perform and teach here in Los Angeles, and I am dedicated to sharing dance as a healing art for energy transformation and empowerment. I am known for my life’s work as a dancer and for my joyful spirit and connection to the arts community. Currently, I teach weekly open classes, trainings, and workshops at Shape90291 and Electric Lodge both in Venice as well as monthly workshops in Santa Cruz.

After letting go of the physical space of Global Dance Arts, I have been able to focus on my own creative work as a performing dance artist and instructor. I have been dedicating myself to developing Samba Soul, my school and dance company. I have put my energy into teaching and developing performance work with Samba Soul. We are creating an empowered community of dancers who support each other in dance and in life.

At Samba Soul we have recently created and produced our own sold-out stage show, “This is Why We Samba!” sharing various forms of Samba as well as the heart of our inspiration for why we samba. We headlined the Venice Music Festival, Abbot Kinney Festival, Hollywood Carnival, and the Afro-Latino Festival at the Ford Theatre. We enjoy working with local musical bands Samba da Mudança and Tropibloco and world artists such as Quetzal Guerrero @QVLN.

We perform all over Los Angeles at festivals, parties, and private events as well as local community events. We bring the joyful art of Samba dance wherever we go!

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Currently, I am developing new dance forms, Global Dance and Samba Fitness both evolved from my many years of teaching Samba and Zumba and studying World Arts and Cultures, into a fun, spirited dance fitness lifestyle. I am also working on creating new dance lifestyle clothing and developing online teaching programs as well as live streaming platforms so students can train remotely as well.

We are building towards performing new work at Samba Queen USA that takes place this October and working towards performing our stage show “This is Why We Samba” in a larger venue where we can share with more of the LA and the world community.

I am thrilled to be traveling to Brazil in February to teach at the Brasil Samba Congress, and I’m excited to be leading a Samba Retreat to Rio de Janeiro for Carnaval 2019. I have taken groups of students and dancers before, but this trip will be something very special because I will be teaching and sharing as part of the tour as well as helping Sambistas connect to the Samba community and history as well as to their own Samba journey.

Carnaval is a Samba dancer’s dream come true, and I can’t wait to share it this magical place with folks this coming year!

Pricing:

• $20 Class drop in
• $75 for 5 Class Package
• $100 monthly Unlimited Classes

Contact Info:

• Website: gisellasambista.com
• Phone: 310-754-9213
• Email: gisellasambista@gmail.com

Image Credit:
Stephen Dietrich, Dania Maxwell

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