Daniela Porto

Daniela ("Dani") Porto is a native of Porto Alegre in southern Brazil. She started dancing at a young age, and took a variety of dance workshops that included hip hop, belly dancing and ballroom dancing. Although Dani came from a family that was not very passionate about dancing or samba, she always wanted to know more about samba music, dance and history.

At 16 years old Dani had the chance to take Axé classes (a form of samba) at her gym - which further fueled her love of samba. She danced with this teacher's group for 3 years, learning dance technique and how to create choreography. She later had the opportunity to dance with a local "escola de samba" (samba school) in Porto Alegre, where she improved her rio style samba.

Daniela arrived in Seattle almost two years ago, and is excited to be dancing with Tudo Beleza. She also teaches a Brazilian dance class at Studio Underground in Seattle.