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I love to dance because it makes me happy. It brings so much joy to my life, that I want to do the same for others.
Dance journey
I started to dance ballet when I was a little girl, three years old, in Brazil. And kept through my childhood. Because of that dance is something that is very close of who I am, to my identity. While I watched the older girls dancing Jazz I was always mesmerised about the style, I found it so cool, stylish and amazing that I also wanted to dance jazz. But I had to wait a few years because jazz was only available when you were 11 year old.
When I was 10 years old, I was invited to join the swimming competition group, but I told my mum that I didn’t want to be a swimmer, I wanted to be a dancer. This is when I joined Jazz and it was everything I expected and more. The year after the school formed a performing group and I was invited to join. The classes and rehearsals got more intense, practicing jazz, ballet, American Tap and Irish Tap on a regular basis. We travelled all over Brazil performing and doing competitions.
Attending dance festivala was always an opportunity to join workshops and courses with the best choreographers of Latin America, that enriched my experience as a dancer, a teacher and a choreographer. Each performance I watched was a chance to watch different styles of choreography, dance styles and songs.
I loved the classes, the friendships build around dance, the performances, being backstage, and travelling. I also loved the discipline dance gave me, the sense of responsibility to look after my costumes and be ready to perform. Working towards a goal and achieving it is something that I learnt from dance and I bring to my life.
Teaching
While I was still a teenager, I started teaching for younger groups in the same school that I used to dance for being mentored by the senior teachers. I still remember the thrill of watching my first students performing on stage.
I came to Australia in 2020 and joined the Dragonfly Dance (then known as Move Through Life) team in 2021 and since then I have regularly been teaching jazz and tap and occasionally ballet. My teaching is driven by the aim to enable people to dance, building the skills step by step until they realise, they are doing things they didn´t think they would be able to do in the first place. I make sure we hold a welcoming environment where they can try new things, have fun, and create friendships.
Becoming a dance teacher made me realise how dance help people develop body awareness and to build strength and confidence. Through dance you can also develop discipline, work as a team and respect others. I love to dance because it makes me happy. It brings so much joy to my life, that I want to do the same for others. I want my students to master dance in a way that they feel free to experience such a joy while dancing that they don’t need to think to much about it, just be present in the moment.
I am also passionate about performing, because I believe is a very rich experience for any adult, especially dancers, so I encourage my students to give it a go, because they might end up with a lifelong experience.
I love dancing and find that music and moving through the rhythm is a very mindful experience. I’m also a yoga teacher and use some of the stretching and breathing techniques during dance classes. My teaching is full of creative techniques to develop body consciousness, learn how to know your limits, and gently, and in a consistent way, push yourself to be your better version of yourself every day.
I also graduated in journalism and worked in the communications industry for 14 years. The busy life as a journalist brought me out from the stage, so I understand what it is to leave a great passion because of other priorities in life such as a new career, family commitments or health issues.
Biography and qualifications
Camila has more than 20 years of experience as a dancer, performer and dance teacher, started dancing when she was only 3 years old.
The styles she has most of her experience is jazz, ballet, American tap dancing and Irish tap dancing. She studied through the Royal Academy of Dance method and has done several short courses while joining dance festivals throughout Brazil.
In 2013 she graduated under the Kundalini Research Institute as a yoga teacher and worked with different age and stages of life groups (regular, prenatal, mums and babies, women, children).
Camila also holds a Bachelor degree in Communications (2006) and a Master degree in Media Studies.
Camila undertook additional teacher training through the Dragonfly Dance teacher training course in 2022.