As I established myself as a dancer I found I was able to focus on my
passion, Samba, more and more. Samba is a dance I have loved ever
since my dad started teaching me around the same time I was
learning to walk. A few years ago I went through a devastating
breakup that really knocked me down. I literally danced Samba every
day to get myself to move past the heartbreak and back into my joy.
This experience taught me the healing power of dance, which in turn
has helped me to better serve and help others.
Dancing my way
towards my dreams
A key piece of my success as an artist has come from building my
career on my own outside of the commercial industry of dance. I still
go to auditions and work jobs, but rather than trying to change and fit
into roles at auditions, my focus is 100% on my craft as a dancer and on
promoting my art with integrity.
I have managed to stay living in LA for 10 years now, working as a dancer fulltime.
In the past two years, I have been dedicating myself to focus on my dance career dreams. I have been
accomplishing things I never would have thought possible more as I break my own limiting beliefs.
Last year I produced and released my first dance instructional DVD on Samba entitled “Brazilian Samba
Basics with Gisella Ferreira,” funded through a successful crowd-funding Kickstarter campaign.
It was inspiring to see how much the dance community supported me and backed the DVD.
I also pushed myself way out of my comfort zone and I decided to compete in the National
Samba Queen Competition. I was amazed when I won the first ever title of “Samba Queen USA”.
Those two successes came as a result of pushing past my fears, believing in myself, tons of hard work,
time and dedication. Currently I am training solo as well as directing my Samba company:
Samba Soul for upcoming shows and working towards Carnival in Rio in February.
MY ADVICE FOR DANCERS IN LA
Never let your daily hustle make you forget why you love to dance. Do not allow yourself to fall into
the starving artist frame of mind. You must believe in yourself and put in hard work to be successful.
Whatever it is that drives you to be a dancer, cherish that and feed that. It’s your passion and you can’t
let it fade. You must bring your spirit to life through your dance if you wish to share and touch the lives
of others.
You cannot spend energy worrying about whether you are good enough. You need all your energy
for your dancing and creativity. Instead, focus on being the best you can at your craft. Train as much as
you can, take classes, put in solo time, and work on your own creative artistic projects. Be patient with
yourself and allow yourself to grow and practice and build to improve. Also be aware that just because
you are dancing— which is a healthy fitness activity— does not mean you should overdo it to the point
that you injure yourself. As a dancer you must honor your body and treat it as a temple.
Nourish and care for your body with love and respect so that you can dance into your 90’s.
Enjoy every moment in your dance.
“Every
step is a blessing“
Gisella teaches at BrasilBrasil Cultural Center in
Los Angeles: BrasilBrasil.org
For more info on Gisella visit: Gisellasambista.com
Facebook: GisellaSambista
Instagram& Twitter: gisellasamba
MakeUp: Shara Angelique Cofran