Join us for an exciting Samba Workshop. The Pagode (a type of Samba) movement evolved out of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and became one of the most popular dance and musical art forms in Brazil. In this workshop participants will learn the history and progression of Pagode as an urban social movement while learning actual Pagode choreography. The workshop will start with a cohesive upbeat warm-up inspired by various Afro-Brazilian movements, participants will then learn the basics of traditional Samba, and will conclude with exploring actual popular Pagode choreography. Throughout the workshop participants will also learn basic Portuguese phrases, and will leave the workshop with a stronger sense of the rhythmically challenging Samba technique, an understanding of Brazilian history and connection to our dance community.
Photo credits: Alyssa Rapp (dance class photos), Carmelo Cataudella (performance photo)
About the instructor....
A native New Yorker, Joya Powell is a Choreographer and Educator passionate about community, activism, and dances of the African Diaspora. Hailed by The New York Times as a “radiant performer;” throughout her career she has danced with choreographers such as Neta Pulvermacher, Katiti King, Donlin Foreman, and Paco Gomes. In 2005 she founded Movement of the People Dance Company, dedicated to building community and social awareness through Socially Conscious Choreography. Her choreography has been performed at venues such as: SummerStage, Lincoln Center, York University in Toronto, Casita Maria (AIR 2015), FLICfest (AIR 2015-2016), The Performance Project @ University Settlement (AIR 2012-2013), Amnesty International's Human Rights Art Festival in Maryland, Symphony Space, The Southern Vermont Dance Festival, The FLEA Theater, BAAD!, Dixon Place, Dance on the Greenway (commission), The Riverside Theatre, BAX, The Casa del Prado Theatre in San Diego, Suffolk Community College, and the Children’s Museum in Brooklyn. She has also been a Guest Artist at Penn State (commission), Hobart Williams-Smith Colleges, Columbia University Teachers College, Kean University, Queens College and Brooklyn College. Joya has presented at such national and international conferences as: The American College Dance Festival, The National Dance Education Organization (2008, 2012-2015), Society of Dance History Scholars, New York State Dance Education Association, Critically Kinaesthetic: Performing Bodies of Political Engagement in Toronto, and O Encontro Tribo Joven in Brazil. She lived in Salvador Bahia, Brazil, for four years where she worked and studied dance with the first Afro-Brazilian Carnival group Ilê Aiyê. She has taught and studied internationally in Brazil, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Israel. Joya is currently an Adjunct Lecturer of Dance at SUNY Old Westbury, and is a part of the Artistic Resource Group for The FLEA Theater, a collaborating member of Dance Caribbean Collective and is the choreographic collaborator of Table Theater. She received her M.A. in Dance Education from New York University, and her B.A. in Latin American Studies and Creative Writing from Columbia University.