Bio & Mission

Photo by Tony Maesto

About Gisella

Gisella Ferreira, a Brazilian American performance artist and instructor specializing in: Samba, Afro-Brazilian, Capoeira, Hip- Hop, Burlesque and Brazilian Baile Funk.  Her titles include: The 1st Samba Queen USA/ Rainha do Samba 2014, Musa do Brazilian Day SD 2014 & 2015, and current 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. Gisella lives in Los Angeles, where she choreographs, teaches dance, and performs with her own company, Samba Soul. She can also be found performing at The Floor Show and improv nights around LA. 

She also 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. 

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 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, Temple Bar (Santa Monica), 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 and her Brazilian family & friends.

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