Rio Samba Dancer – Customer Reviews

“My friend and I make dance trips to different countries to learn whatever dance is local there. We took two samba and forró classes with Hélio and also went out two nights with him. I had previously tried to learn samba, but didn´t get the steps. With Hélio, however, it was really easy, he is very pedagogical and has a great sense of humour, which makes you relax and enjoy yourself. When we went out at night we tried a really off-the-beaten-track local forró place where we were able to dance with lots of different people and the second time to a famous, elegant samba club – perfect to see two kinds of clubs. Hélio is young, but serious and we recommend him to anybody!”

Marisa L. and Lorraine L. (USA) – April 2011

We found Helio on a general internet search for samba dance lessons in Brazil. And, we’re extremely grateful we did! Helio was one of the highlights of our trip to Brazil. Through him, we were able to experience some Brazilian culture first hand and go to a place off the beaten track.

Helio is a pleasure to work with. He’s very friendly and professional and made us feel at ease during our forro lesson. It was so easy dancing with him! He’s a great teacher who broke the dance down for us in steps. We learned the basics very well. Our package included the night out and so after an hour of lesson, we went out for a few hours to a club away from the touristy areas of Rio. He made us feel very at ease there, not only dancing with us but keeping us safe as well. The club he chose was amazing! A ton of people packed full in a few different rooms with different types of music all through the night including a live samba band, live rock band, and Brazilian funk. There was even capoeira and feijoada. When we went to the room playing forro music, we found the lesson gave us the confidence to dance with men who asked. Helio warned us in advance to expect all sorts of different partners. Some would be strong leaders, some wouldn’t be and could be confusing, but his lesson gave us a strong base so we could deal with all sorts. We seemed to attract the one guy in the entire place with no rhythm but Helio saved us from him as well. It was an unbelievable night! The most memorable of our whole trip!

You will definitely have an excellent experience with Helio. He will take good care of you not only in terms of learning Brazilian dance but in ensuring your time in Brazil is well spent. He made some great recommendations to us about other places to go dance forro as well as some other interesting things we might like to try such as a cooking class.

Helio is now in Lonely Planet guidebook and we expect with his business to grow as he’s such a knowledgable, fun, and charismatic person. So, book a lesson with him when you’re in Rio. It’s definitely well worth it. We highly recommend Helio!

James – Hungria ( April, 2011)

Helio ízig-vérig Carioca tele életkedvvel és szenvedéllyel. A szamba
és a forró alapjait néhány alkalom után sikerült megtanítania, és
szerencsémre partnert is szerzett a gyakorláshoz. Az órák nagyszerű
hangulatban teltek. A hangsúly a zeneiségen és a lépések helyességén
volt, sem mint különböző lépések felhalmozásán megfelelő gyakorlás
nélkül.

Pár óra gyakorlás után meggyőzött, hogy menjünk el egy hagyományos
brazil forró estre együtt, még akkor is, ha mindössze néhány lépést
tudtam. Nem bántam meg. Még egy halk vasárnap estén is utánozhatatlan
a hangulat, és az a pár lépés is sokat számított!”

Lisa Boardman and Simon – (London – Mar, 2011)

I took a Forro class with Helio when I visited Rio and we learnt the basic steps while on the roof terrace of our hotel overlooking Copacabana. I couldn’t think of a more perfect place to learn the magical dance than in this location. It was truly amazing.
Helio is not only patient and a talented dancer, he was charismatic, charming and funny and made the whole experience truly enjoyable.
He took us out later that night to practice the moves we had learned earlier and we had such a great time. The music was great and everyone was enjoying themselves, including us! We danced all night and we felt we had experienced the real Rio with help from Helio.
I thoroughly recommend Helio’s services to everyone and anyone interested in experiencing the music, dance and energy of the real Rio.

Elise Cole - ( London – Mar,2011)

A thoroughly enjoyable and professional service is provided by Helios. He breaks things down into easy bitesize chunks and passes on his passion for dance through his joy and enthusiasm. Definitely recommended.

Shannon & Brett – ( Australian – Feb,2011)

Hey Helio!

We loved the lesson, thanks so much for a fun afternoon.

Yes, we would love to go to the Forro place tonight. We will do the dinner at 9 as well, Brett, Shannon and our friend Jozz will join as well.

Where do we meet??

Paulo Gomes – Canada

“Rio Sambadancer was outstanding!!  Helio is courteous, professional and can teach even the most novice of dancers the Forro and Samba.  His focused and fun approach ensures a fantastic experience.  In addition his vast network in the city, he always has a new local “hot spot” to practice your moves every night of the week”

Please feel free to email me with specific questions in regards to the service

Gaurav Sen – Miami, USA

“The forró classes were incredible. Helio is an excellent instructor, and he dances better than anybody I’ve seen in all the times I’ve gone out in Brazil. This guy really knows what he’s doing”

Marina. Mar del Plata, Argentina.

Visité la ciudad de Río de Janeiro este año, tuve la suerte de disfrutar de algo más que los días de playa, paseos y excursiones. Amo bailar y no quise volver sin tener la oportunidad de conocer de cerca la noche de Río y sus bailes típicos, así conocimos a Helio, excelente profesor de Samba y Forró y excelente persona. Con él fue muy fácil aprender, por su talento y carisma y también por su simpatía constante, su alegría contagiosa que hizo que disfrutemos de cada segundo. Fue una hermosa experiencia, no sólo aprender a bailar sino tomar contacto con la danza y la musica tradicional, con la cultura de Brasil que es maravillosa. Algo diferente para no perderse!

Aimée Challandes. Suíça.

Arrivée à Rio pour visiter la ville et surtout pour dançer, j’ai eu la chance de rencontrer Helio. Nous sommes sortis dans plusieurs bars où des jouaient des groupes de forró et de Samba. Helio connaît les meilleurs endroits pour sortir et dance merveilleusement bien! Je recommande à tous les amateurs de danse latines de prendre des cours avec lui et surtout de sortir pratiquer!!!

Alison and Liz, 29th September 2010 – London

We were lucky enough to meet Helio and therefore be introduced to Forro during our stay in Rio. My cousin and I had a lesson with Helio and his colleague, which we both thoroughly enjoyed. Before meeting Helio we had never even heard of Forro, only Samba. In the lesson Helio taught us this very typical and enjoyable dance of Brazil. In the lesson Helio made us feel very comfortable. He started by showing us very simple steps and built up to teach us a variety of steps to different music at a faster pace. After the lesson, we arranged to meet Helio at a Forro night in one of the many clubs in Lapa. He gave us the confidence to dance, and he encouraged us to try out our new steps with the many men who asked us to dance! It was a great night out and so cool to see how popular this form of dancing and music is in Rio! We would highly recommend Helio´s lessons to anyone visiting the city. Thanks so much Helio!!!´

Veronica – España

Si mi amiga y yo disfrutamos tanto de Río de Janeiro fue,sin duda, gracias a Helio. No sólo nos enseñó samba y forró, sino que compartió con nosotras los rincones más especiales de esta increíble ciudad. Nos llevó a bares y pubs, nos acompañó al Cristo de Corcovado, fuimos con él a Lapa y a Santa Teresa, y nos hizo probar el rodizio de carne y la feijoada. Helio nos aportó mucha seguridad y confianza en un país considerado como peligroso, haciendo que aprovechásemos al máximo de Brasil.

Jugnu Khera – USA

Thank you again for showing us Rio! We really enjoyed it!!! You are a great guide and i hope your business does really well….we will definitely be recommending you to all our friends that plan on visiting Rio!!

Thank you so much again!!
Jugnu

Carla Barroso, Bs As – Argentina

Mi nombre es Carla soy argentina y este verano decidi vacacionar en la hermosa ciudad de Rio de Janeiro (Brasil).
Alli conoci a Helio un exelente profesor de forrò el nos enseño a bailar a mi y a mis amigas, la verdad que es barbaro a hecho maravillas con nosotra, pero lo mejor fue la buena onda por la cual le estamos super agradecidas y nos trajimos el mejor de los recuerdos. Ademas de enseñarnos a salido con nosotras y nos a hecho pasar unas noches inolvidables. Es super recomendable el profe creanme!!!.
Besitos.”

Peter – ( March, 2011)

“Helio is a genuine Carioca, vibrant and throbbing with life. He
taught me the basics of forró and samba in no time, and he was also
kind enough to recruit a partner to dance with. The classes went in a
cheerful mood, with an emphasis on musicality and getting the steps
right, rather than hoarding up new steps without sufficient practice.
After just a few lessons, Helio was persistent enough to convince me
to go out for a forró night, and, although my skills were not
particularly advanced, I had no regrets. The joyful atmosphere of a
forró club is contagious and we had an awesome time, even though it
was a quiet Sunday night!”