Camila Alves is a forró teacher from Lisbon with a passion for technique, freedom, and connection. She discovered forró at the age of 17, after exploring dance styles including Argentine tango, salsa, kizomba, semba, and hip-hop. She started teaching in 2012 and has since shared her approach in 23 countries across four continents.
Her teaching combines strong technical foundations with freedom of expression. Her feminist approach challenges traditional gender roles in dance, encouraging leaders and followers to develop their own voice while staying connected to their partner, the music, and themselves.
For Camila, dancing is not simply about following a set of rules or movements. It is about taking ownership of your dance, expressing who you are, and creating a conscious connection with the person you are dancing with.
Workshop Programme
Three workshops across one afternoon, exploring turns technique, communication between roles, and frame in forró.
Turns Technique: Pivot, Focus & Energy (for Followers AND LEADERS)
Time
–
Level
Open level
Prerequisite
You have done level 1 and up
Clean turns aren't magic, they're honestly just four boring things done right: your pivot point, your focus, your energy and your count. We're going to break down every single one (including the solo drilling nobody enjoys, sorry not sorry) before taking it into partnerwork. It's a proper technical class, less about looking cool and more about actually understanding what your body is doing when it spins.
Active following & attentive leading
Time
–
Level
Open level
Prerequisite
You have done at least one level 2 and up
In this class we’ll explore the foundations of communication in dance. We’ll work on how followers can contribute ideas in a clear, courageous and comfortable way, and how leaders can develop awareness and responsiveness to those proposals, creating a true dialogue in Forró. Through simple exercises and partnerwork, we’ll build the skills needed to create a more collaborative, musical, and fun dance for all of us :)
Frame in Forró
Time
–
Level
Intermediate level
Prerequisite
You have done at least two levels 2 and up
Frame is by far one of the hardest technical elements to understand and integrate in our dance, but so important! It's not stiffness and it's not some shape you hold like a mannequin in a shop window: it's the connection running through your hands, arms, shoulders and torso, the thing that actually lets you feel your partner (and get felt back). We'll work on exercises together first and then apply these ideas in a set of steps that I'm sure you'll love!
Prices & Payment
Cash payment on the day is preferred. If paying in cash, please bring the exact amount.
Package
Price
1 workshop
€18
2 workshops
€32
All 3 workshops
€45
Money should not be a barrier to participating. If the price is difficult for you, please contact us and we’ll look for a solution together.
Registration
Registrations will open soon. The registration form will be available directly on this page.
Practical Information
Bring water and wear comfortable shoes that let you move easily.
Continue Dancing in the Evening
After the workshops, Chove Chuva will play a live forró concert organised by Be Forró. View the concert information on Instagram. Admission is separate from the Conexão workshops.
