Bio & Mission

About Gisella

Gisella Ferreira, a Brazilian American performance artist and instructor specializing in: Samba, Afro-Brazilian, Capoeira, Hip- Hop, Burlesque and Brazilian Funk.  Her titles include: The 1st Samba Queen USA/ Rainha do Samba,  Hollywood Carnival Queen. 

Gisella studied at UCLA's Dept. of World Arts and Cultures, focusing on dance choreography and performance, as well as on art activism. She began teaching dance at age 12 in Santa Cruz CA and has taught in Rio de Janeiro (Brasil), Salvador (Brasil) and Los Angeles CA. 
She brings over 20 years of teaching dance experience and over 16 years of professional dance experience.  In 2020 she became a Passista do Salgueiro, a Principal Dancer and member of a prestigious Samba School in Rio. She parades in the Carnaval parade in Rio annually with Salgueiro. 
Gisella  also choreographs, teaches dance in the schools, and performs with her company, Samba Soul in Santa Cruz and Los Angeles, CA. 

She tours and performs worldwide and trains extensively in the U.S. as well as Brasil in many dance forms including Capoeira, Samba and Hip-Hop.  She was named one of "LA's Hottest Trainers" in 2012 and has been active in Health day LA as well as Let's Move LA, dedicating time to help the LA community become more active and inspired through dance. 

Currently Gisella lives in Santa Cruz and  teaches dance full time at Raizes do Brasil Capoeira  Santa Cruz, Pleasure Point Dance as well as to children  in the schools. 

Gisella Ferreira loves sharing her passion for life through artistic movement expression, and dances as a form of  energy work & healing for herself and others. She is inspired to live each day in joy and gratitude and help to give back to the world through dance.
   

Mission:

*To teach and perform dance as healing energy work

*To create art with a message, integrity & purpose

*To inspire & motivate others to live fit and healthy lives full of music & dance.

* To build and empower community through providing access to arts education & celebration for disadvantaged youth in the U.S. and Brasil

Gisella’s TV and film experience include appearances in: Breaking Through, director John Legend; the Shakira T Mobile World Cup Commerical, Zumba® World Party Video game, TV show Chuck; and Rio Hot Wings on American Idol. She has shared the stage with such artists as Jamie Fox, Wil I AM, Sheila E, Quetzal Guerrero, Victoria Justice and B.O.B.
 

Performance Venues:
The Palace of Fine Arts(San Francisco), The Ford Theatre (Los Angeles), The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (Los Angeles), The House of Blues(Sunset Blvd), The Roxy (Sunset Blvd), Highways Performance Space (Santa Monica), UCLA Gloria Kaufman Hall, UCLA Royce Hall, UCLA Fowler Museum, Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), Chinese New Year (Hong Kong), Carnival (Brasil), Shakira Video Waka Waka, Nike Samba Commercial, Carnaval(Club Nokia), The Hollywood Bowl (Hollywood).

Gisella’s teachers include:  Gary Kendell of JabbaWockeez crew, Carmela Woll, Neguinho do Samba, Joy Smith, Mestre Amen Santo, Mestre Carlinhos do Salgueiro  and her Brazilian family & friends. 

2007-2008 Hip-Hop Residency with Escola Didá in Salvador Bahia, Brasil