http://zoukology.com/rios-new-dance-stars/
(texto abaixo em português)
Raquel Mesquita is the founder of the first ballroom dance school created for children and adolescences in Brazil in 1995. The school attends to children of different social and economic circumstances who come from different neighborhoods all over the city of Rio de Janeiro, favoring those who are of lower income. The projects developed by Raquel Mesquita have the objective to stimulate the children to develop a cultural activity linked to ballroom dancing, aiming their social integration and their corporal development to help them later become more independent people in life.
This is her interview:
From this idea I was able to receive support from a dance academy owner named Fernando Macedo in the Flamenco neighborhood and later by dancer Álvaro Reys in Copacabana where I am still today. They helped me fulfill this dream of mine.
Essa é sua entrevista:
A partir desta ideia pude ter apoio de um proprietário de academia chamado Fernando Macedo / no bairro do Flamengo e posteriormente do dançarino Álvaro Reys/Copacabana onde estou até hoje. Eles me ajudaram realizar este sonho.
Raquel Mesquita is the founder of the first ballroom dance school created for children and adolescences in Brazil in 1995. The school attends to children of different social and economic circumstances who come from different neighborhoods all over the city of Rio de Janeiro, favoring those who are of lower income. The projects developed by Raquel Mesquita have the objective to stimulate the children to develop a cultural activity linked to ballroom dancing, aiming their social integration and their corporal development to help them later become more independent people in life.
This is her interview:
When did the dance school begin and how were you able to created it?
Our social project has existed for nearly 17 years. I started when I realized I could no longer alienate myself from one of the realities that exists in Rio de Janeiro: children of low income who will have little opportunities to develop their possibilities. So I opened a space to give classes to those children, especially between the ages of 5 to 16. In one year I had 316 kids wanting to dance. It was crazy! Even I was surprised with the immediate acceptance of those interested. Ballroom dancing was practically inexistent for children at this time.From this idea I was able to receive support from a dance academy owner named Fernando Macedo in the Flamenco neighborhood and later by dancer Álvaro Reys in Copacabana where I am still today. They helped me fulfill this dream of mine.
How do you maintain the school without payment from the students? Do you have help from sponsors? If so, which ones are they?
The school is maintained by the passion we feed it and through the children with the help from friends who pay for them to be a part of the school. A lot of them live very far and sometimes take up to three hours to get to class and three more hours to get back home. Some dance teachers like our own Álvaro Reys, Elis de Jesus, Gabriel Silva, Netti e Naldir, Joelso and many other teachers help us A LOT. No one receives payment for what they do and all of them dedicate plenty of their time. We do not have sponsors but we have unbelievable friends that help us in many ways. We call them the Godmothers and Godfathers of the students, these guardian angels that accompany us. If we had our own studio space we would be able to invest a lot more, which I am sure one day we will have.Does the Brazilian government recognize this project? Do they help in some way?
There are incentive art laws in Brazil, but we are not linked to them. They come with a lot of bureaucratic problems, a lot of economic diversions and we opt to stay away from that. We live off of what we have.I saw a lot of Samba in your videos. What other dances do you teach at your school?
Samba is part of our carioca culture and is the preferred style by most. We also dance: Zouk, Forró, Swing, Bolero, Salsa and even a little Tango.How many days a week and how many hours a day do the children participate?
Only once a week, Fridays from 5 to 10pm and Sundays we have practices for those who will be performing, from 2 to 6pm.Do the students get to perform in different events? If so, where have these performances been done?
Yes, we have danced in many places already: appearances with Brazilian singers, in dance clubs, alternative spaces, presentations in many Brazilian dance studios, televised programs, and carnival events…we already went to Switzerland, Argentina and who knows one day to the United States where you guys are!As Novas Estrelas de Dança do Rio
Raquel Mesquita foi a criadora da primeira academia especializada em dança de salão para crianças e adolescentes no Brasil no ano 1995. A escola atende a crianças de diferentes condições sociais, econômicas e de diferentes bairros da cidade do Rio de Janeiro, prevalecendo as de baixa renda. Os projetos desenvolvidos pela Professora Raquel Mesquita tem como objetivos estimular as crianças a desenvolverem uma atividade cultural ligada à dança de salão, visando sua integração social e seu desenvolvimento corporal de forma mais autônoma.Essa é sua entrevista:
Quando surgiu a idéia e como foi realizado o projeto?
Nosso projeto social existe há 17 anos. Comecei quando percebi que não poderia mais ficar alheia a uma das realidades existente no Rio de Janeiro: crianças de baixa renda terem poucas oportunidades para desenvolverem suas possibilidades. Abri então um espaço para dar aulas, especialmente para a faixa etária de 05 a 16 anos de idade. Tive em um ano 316 crianças querendo dançar. Uma loucura! Até eu me surpreendi com a aceitabilidade imediata dos responsáveis de ação. A dança de salão praticamente inexistia para crianças.A partir desta ideia pude ter apoio de um proprietário de academia chamado Fernando Macedo / no bairro do Flamengo e posteriormente do dançarino Álvaro Reys/Copacabana onde estou até hoje. Eles me ajudaram realizar este sonho.
