Gisella Ferreira, a Brazilian-American performance artist and instructor specializes in: Samba, Afro-Brazilian, Capoeira, Hip- Hop, Burlesque and Brazilian Baile Funk. Her titles include: The first Samba Queen USA/ Rainha do Samba, Musa do Brazilian Day , Hollywood Carnival Queen, and currently a passista do Salgueiro (one of the most prestigious dance positions and Samba Schools in Rio).

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 twelve in Santa Cruz CA and has taught in Rio de Janeiro (Brasil), Salvador (Brasil) and started her own dance company and studio in 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”  and has been active in Health day LA as well as Let’s Move LA for many years, dedicating time to help the LA community become more active and inspired through dance.She can also be found performing at The Floor Show and improv nights around LA. Gisella now lives in Santa Cruz, where she performs and teaches Samba.

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.