Flávia Nascimento has 20 years of Afro-Brazilian Dance training. Afro-Brazilian dance is the rhythmic embodiment of African oral traditions. It incorporates movements from Candomble spirituality (without religious rituals), folklore, and Orixas symbolism. Flávia has committed her career to understanding the expansive universe of Afro-Brazilian Dance. Flávia understood these complex dance traditions must be learned from master teachers who teach dynamic movement with live drumming in Afro-Brazilian communities. Flávia lived in Salvador, Bahia for 5 years intensely studying at FUNCEB to gain access to this powerful training. Flávia values the rich history and symbolism of these traditions and brings that vibrant energy to her dance instruction. Flávia began specialized training in Capoeira Angola (Afro-Brazilian martial arts) as a small child – she learned how to play numerous percussion instruments, dance Samba de Roda, and lead call and response songs. In 2004, Flávia began training in Afro-Brazilian dance at Tambolelê-Cultural Center in Belo Horizonte where she learned cultural traditions of the Afro-descendants of Brazil’s Minas Gerais State) such as Tambor Mineiro Congado (annual procession of Afro-Catholic drumming, songs, dancing, and street marching which memorialized hardships of enslaved Africans in Brazil), Caixa de Folia. Also, Flávia completed an African Dance Intensive, part of the Festival de Arte Negra (Black Arts Festival) with Senegalese Choreographer and Dancer in Traditional and Contemporary African Dance Germaine Acogny. In 2009 she trained with FUNCEB (Cultural Foundation of the State of Bahia Dance School). In 2011, Flávia relocated to Salvador to study Orixas Movements & Symbology, Samba Reggae (Samba Afro), Contemporary Afro-Brazilian Dance, Samba de Caboclo, and Samba de Roda. From April 2020 to the present, Flávia completed advanced training in the Silvestre Technique which gives dancers the opportunity to connect to body technique, then study and investigate the unification of symbols that express aspects of the universe – cosmologically and physically. Through this process of discovery, the dancer powerfully reveals the possibilities of movement while connecting with intuition, expression, and balance. The lead instructors Marcela Botelho and Deko Alves (Brazil), and Professor Tamara Williams (UNC-Charlotte) also provide daily from their dance communities. Flávia Nascimento is also part of a Contemporary Dance Company “Moving Spirits” in Charlotte, North Carolina.