Weslei Guimarães is a Dance Instructor, Choreographer, Performer, and Director native to the favelas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His artistry uses a variety of dance styles which has afforded opportunities to work with dance enthusiasts across the United States. Weslei’s dance repertoire includes Samba no Pe, Brazilian Ballroom (Samba de Gafieira, Bolero, Forró), and Baile Funk.
Weslei began building his dance accolades in his home country. He is the winner of the Brazilian National Bolero Championship, Estilizando Bolero (Brazil, 2016), and has participated in numerous Comissão de Frentes – a highly selective performance section of the largest Carnaval in the world in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was later hired as a dancer for popular Brazilian television entertainment similar to the U.S. program, Dancing with the Stars, and has appeared in news segments as a dancer on Brazilian and American TV channels.
In the United States, Weslei worked heavily on large dance productions including the Annual Yemanja Arts Festival and SamBrazil where he served as Choreographer and Co-Director with the Brasarte Cultural Center in Berkeley, California (2017, 2018). He served as Lead Choreographer of the first Samba de Gafieira Ala for two years with Ginga Brazil in the Annual San Francisco Carnaval Festival. He has also performed across the country appearing with celebrity artists including musicians Jorge Aragão, Dudu Nobre, Mono Bloco, and alongside dance masters Marcelo Chocolate, Alvaro Reyes, Patrick Caravalho, Thai Rodrigues, Leo Fortes and Robertinha.
As an instructor, Weslei created Northern California’s first comprehensive Danca de Salão (Brazilian Ballroom Dance) program, called Gafieira SF, which has not only introduced a new style of dance to the San Francisco Bay Area, but has helped hundreds of dancers fall in love with Samba de Gafieira. In 2020, he was invited to teach at the largest Brazilian dance congress in the United States, International Samba Congress, where the best talent and instruction is flown directly from Brazil to teach workshops over a dance-intensive weekend. For the last 5 years, Weslei has also worked as an afterschool program dance and fitness instructor for kids ages 5-14 years, including those with different learning abilities (Brasarte, Get Empowered).
In 2023, Weslei opened his first dance school in Berkeley, CA where he dedicates his time to continued learning, strength in community, and actively facilitates an environment for boundless creativity. Currently, Weslei serves as Director of Talent Development, Choreographer, and is a Principal Dancer with Estrelas do Samba Dance Company. He also teaches ongoing classes at Mahea Uchiyama Center for International Dance in Berkeley, CA while performing and teaching workshops across the United States.
