Rodson de Jesus: An Amazing Dancer and Dance Instructor

Rodson de Jesus

If you are looking for a fabulous (yes, fabulous) dance class, you must try Rodson's class on Tuesdays or Sundays at Casa de Cultura in Berkeley. He is an exceptional dancer, amazing teacher, and San Francisco's Carnaval King.

If you are still not convinced, let me tell you about Rodson. He is a Brazilian native who has performed and taught all over the world. A former ‎Balé Folclórico da Bahia and Dance Brazil dancer, he is known for his energy and talent. The man can really dance!

Rodson's classes are fun, lively, and a great workout. Carefully, he breaks down the steps and guides students through various moves while playing Brazilian songs by some of my favorite artist.

Whenever I attend his class, I am always impressed by his attention to details and caring personality. For instance, after showing a move, he guides students through the same move before adding on the next step. It's odd to say but his teaching style puts me at ease, so I end up really enjoying myself and getting a great workout.

Here is a beautiful performance from ‎Balé Folclórico da Bahia

Beijos and enjoy your week!

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Me Time

I'm a Scorpio, so by nature I am passionate and unpredictable. With time I have learned to deal with my love-it-or-hate-it attitude--what Brazilians call 8 or 80. But I am currently struggling with the latter. This normally happens when I feel overwhelmed by the numerous essays and reading assignments I have to grade--the downside of being a teacher.

Monday through Friday I am busy meeting obligations. At times, I miss the freedom of leaving work and doing something adventurous, like going to the library and losing myself in the Historical fiction section (adventurous, I know). I miss talking on the phone with friends without the musical sounds of a cranky 2-year old. And I also miss the ability to sit in front of the TV or read a good novel without feeling guilty that I have not finished grading my students' essays. In other words, I miss Me time.

Though I have not found a remedy for my problem, I may have a temporary solution. While my top choice is to marry Brad Pitt, work part time, and have Freddy as my lover (I can't live without Freddy), I will settle for a personal day off. I will then go out for a long walk, catch up on 30 Rock episodes, talk on the phone, read the same novel I've been trying to finish for the past 3 months, and not grade a single essay! FYI: The essays are usually what drives me to need a personal day off.

To achieve me goal, I have two options: Take a day off from work or ask a friend to babysit Camila. Since a day off From work is not a viable option right now, I'm going with the second choice.

We have dear friends with a daughter the same age as Camila. It also happens that their daughter and Camila attend the same daycare. Consequently, we often see each other and enjoy each others company. Unplanned, we began doing babysitting swaps, which I love. Almost weekly, Camila has a play-date at their home or the other way around. The same goes for sleepovers. We drop Camila off for dinner and pick her up at 9ish. I love the swaps!! Best of all, I have a day off and am comfortable knowing that Camila is in good hands.

On a side note, here is a great video from the Onion, a satirical new source. It's title: "In the Know: Are Tests Biased Against Students who Don't Give a Shit." Though the video is not about teacher overwhelmed by numerous essays, it is a humorous skit. From the title, you can guess that this is a informative, accurate, and newsworthy ;) report.

Bay Area Dance Clases

Yes, I love to dance, so there is nothing better than a great dance class. Below is a list of local dance classes that have caught my attention:

Maria Souza's samba class

This is THE samba class to attend if you want to learn samba. Maria breaks down the samba steps and works with student's individually. She also has a great and positive energy that is contagious.

Her class is every Monday from 7:30-9 at Burk Hall in Berkeley. For questions call her at 510-548-1310.

Silvana Sousa

An accomplished samba dancer, Sivana Sousa teaches a high energy samba class once a week. She successfully fuses traditional samba moves with aerobic and Brazilian pop. With her edgy and high energy personality, Silvana will motivate, push, and make sure you getting a great workout!

Her class is on Wednesday from 6:30-8 at Mission Dance Theater in San Francisco.

Raffaela Falchi

This is a great class for beginners. during the first half of class, Raffaella focuses on samba moves and basic steps. Then the fun begins. During the second half, Raffaella has live music to accompany a detailed choreography that mixes samba, Axe, and samba reggae.

Her class is on Friday from 6-7:15 at ODC Dance School in San Francisco.

Rodison de Jesus

One of the few male samba teachers in the Bay Area, Rodison de Jesus is an amazing teacher. A former Ballet de Folklorico dancer, Rodison is a natural dancer and a great teacher. He carefully breaks down the steps, demonstrates the final product, and gives students time to practice and improve the steps. His friendly personality, great energy, and amazing looks makes the aches and pains from a great workout worth it!

His class is every Monday from 7-8:30 at the San Francisco Gold's Gym.

Maisa Duke

Though I have never taken her class (conflicts with schedules), Maisa an I have performed together various times. Without a doubt, she is an amazing dancer, so I can only assume that she is an amazing samba teacher.

Her class is every Monday from 6:30-7:45 at Studio Gracia in San Francisco.

Dudley Flores

Okay, he is not a samba teacher but I really enjoy his class. In his Fusion and Motion class, you will work muscles you didn't know you had. But best of all, you do it all with a smile on your face. The class is fun and Dudley does a great job of breaking down the moves.

His class is every Sunday from 10-11 am at ODC in San Francisco.

With the above classes, a great workout can also be fun. Enjoy!