Take samba dance lessons in Brazil

“Facing the mirror we were shown the first step led by Helio, our very entertaining dance teacher. Switching our feet in front of each other for two beats and bouncing as we put weight on our back legs. As we learnt the basic step in very slow motion, I was waiting for the pace to quicken. This was fun but having lived in Latin America for 18 months I was ready to shake my bootie. Rio Samba Dancer entices those who have no rhythm or dance experience. Judging from the rest of the room, we were able to shake our tush but w e must have looked a bit too serious as Helio stopped us to show the difference between dancing technically, and someone who let loose. He encouraged us to do the same and we were off, shaking our hips and arms forward and back across the room to the 1-2-3 beats. This time turning around as we bounced.”

“Pure exhaustion as I walked into the theatre of ACBEU where we were greeted by a wonderfully physically fit man named Antonio Cozido, which he could sense. Dr. Stauber assured me that this is something I would love and enjoy but at the moment, not even a box of Oreos would have made me more enthusiastic to get on the stage, and if you know me you know I live for some Oreos. As we got up on stage, everyone introduced themselves including Antonio Cozido, there was something about his energy that instantly lifted mine. We started off with some light movements and I can tell the majority of us felt very awkward. Antonio was quick to bust out the hip and butt gyrations which I wasn’t mad at! He started teaching us a routine that was choreographed for Michael Jackson’s song, “They Don’t Really Care About Us.” In a short time I could feel everyone else spirit lifted, including my owns. Regardless of coordination everyone looked like they loved learning this routine and it actually came together really well! By the end we had a full routine that we performed to the song itself.”