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Our Journey

About Forró For All

Forró For All is a non-profit and volunteer project that offers forró dance classes in Toronto, ON, Canada. It was founded in 2013 by students at University of Toronto who were exchange students through the Brazilian Science Without Borders program.

Forró For All Philosophy

Our Vision

Our vision is to create a community full of love for Forró dance and Forró music. We want everyone in our community to gain from our classes a lifelong love and appreciation for Forró.

Our Mission

Our mission is to keep Forró culture alive by providing weekly, quality forró dance classes in an environment that is friendly, respectful, welcoming, and conducive to building self-confidence and to learning and improving at one’s own pace.

Our Values

Community

  • All are welcome to our community.

  • We strive for a positive and respectful community, and we expect all community members to treat others with positivity and respect.

Excellence

  • We strive for excellence, in both dance and in life, and for having fun along the way.

Commitment

  • We are committed to the students, to emphasizing proper technique while encouraging creative expression, and to making the classes as regular as possible.

Our Team

Our team of volunteers all first joined as students of Forró For All and now want to give back to this project. They come from a variety of backgrounds and contribute many different skills to maintain and further the Forró For All project.

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Caniggia Viana

Instructor

Despite being from the very place where forró was born, Caniggia joined FFA as a student and learned the first steps of forró in Toronto, in 2014. If there's no zabumba playing anywhere, odds are, you'll find him on his bike.

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Corina F. Ramirez

Instructor

Before joining FFA in 2017, Corina's only other dance experience was line dancing at Filipino parties or at country bars. When she's not dancing, she likes playing volleyball and watering or singing to her plants.

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Maristela CHaddad

Instructor, Admin Manager

Maristela is Brazilian-born, Canadian by choice, and speaks Portuguese, English, and Spanish. She joined FFA in 2014 as a student and quickly became a volunteer. In 2017, After a brief period of no classes and difficulty in finding a venue, Maristela reopened the group, and it has grown into what you see now, thanks to Maristela's passion for the forró family community we've built in Toronto.

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Patricia Feitosa

Marketing Specialist

Marketing Specialist and keeper of Forró for All's brand presence. Serial punster, beach addict, chips eater, better dancer than singer. A pro at quoting songs. "Se não fosse o forró, o que seria de mim, Deus meu?"

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Vinicius Dantas

Instructor

Vini Joined FFA in 2015 as a student, when he learned his very first steps. After a few months, he moved to Brazil and co-founded a forró group in his hometown to keep the fire burning. After a few years and participating of a number of forró festivals, he moved back to Toronto in 2021 and joined the group as it was resuming its activities in the post-covid era. Vini is very curious about the history of forró and its traditions.

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Cem Yildirim

Instructor

Cem joined FFA in 2019 as a beginner coming from a salsa background. He's been enjoying dancing forró since then and has been involved heavily with the club to help bring it the attention it deserves in Toronto. Cem enjoys coming up with new moves that he can use to ensure chaos on the dancefloor.

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Ivan Moraes

Instructor

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Marketa Tokova

Instructor​

Marketa first visited Brazil in 2006 and since then, she loves everything Brazilian - food, culture, music, people, and... dance! Her first forró party was at a Brazilian island Ilhabela and since then, she has been looking for a forró community - until she found FFA. She loves gafieira maybe even a little more - but that's a story for another bio.

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Pedro Bastos

IT Support

Pedro is an expert in good coffee and in good vibe t-shirts. "You can’t buy joy, but you can join Forró For All, that’s the same thing." (Bastos, 2023)

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    Jimmy Kizito

    Instructor

    Jimmy dances in general to bring more play into grown-up life; and dances forró in particular because he adores its folksy sentimentality. He hopes to be able to share a sense of lighthearted spontaneity with whomever he dances.

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      Clara Steinhagen

      Instructor

      Clara encountered FFA by chance at the University of Toronto, introduced to the group by someone who convinced her that forró was similar to Irish dance (it is not, but she was hooked anyway). When not dancing forró, Clara writes, competes in Irish dance at the Open Championship level, bakes pies, organizes events, volunteers as a print shop apprentice, and tries desperately to make proper sourdough. Her favorite things about being part of FFA is sparking the love of dance in others and seeing how people draw joy from the community.

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      Joseane Silva

      Instructor

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      Nesrin Akdemir

      Admin Manager

      Nesrin joined FFA in 2019 with a love of Brazilian arts and culture. Excited to be contributing to the growing force of forró in the city. Budding triangulist. Will never say no to dessert

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        Sal D’Souza

        Instructor

        Sal joined FFA in 2015, when she was invited by her Colombian housemate who was doing her PhD in Brazil and an exchange program in Toronto. She loves and champions the FFA community's friendly and very non-competitive nature. Sal loves teaching newcomers and loves watching them learn new skills and grow into regular members of the group. Sal's parents are from India, and they have lived in Canada since She was one year old. Since she joined FFA, Sal has been mistaken for a Brazilian on more than one occasion.

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        Sérgio Cruz

        Instructor

        Sérgio joined FFA in August 2022 and became a volunteer in March 2023. He discovered his passion for Forró and dancing in his hometown (Sao Paulo), and after more than a year living in Toronto and missing Forró, he found out about our community and is an assiduous member ever since.

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