FORRÓ IN BARCELONA: WORKSHOPS AND EDUCATIONAL EXCHANGE
In 2022 and 2025, Rafael from Forró New York collaborated with local educators in Barcelona, teaching forró workshops and sharing in the city’s community dance activities.
CONNECTING THROUGH LOCAL COLLABORATIONS
Rafael’s teaching visits to Barcelona developed through relationships with educators and cultural spaces active in the local forró community.
The first visit, in 2022, brought a musicality workshop to Cafofo as part of a European trip that also included workshops in Paris and a visit to the Vem Vem Festival in Lucerne. In 2025, Rafael returned for a two-day teaching collaboration with Barcelona-based instructor Yasmine as part of a European tour that also included a visit to the Netherlands and teaching at the Baião Vai festival in Lisbon.
Each visit combined focused learning with opportunities to meet and dance with members of the local community.
BARCELONA COLLABORATION ARCHIVE
2022 — A MUSICALITY WORKSHOP AT CAFOFO
At the invitation of local dance teacher David Bosco, Rafael taught a forró musicality workshop at Cafofo, a Brazilian cultural space in Barcelona.
The class explored how different stepping patterns can express rhythm, giving participants practical ways to connect their movement choices with the music.
Isabelle, a local forró teacher who attended the workshop, joined Rafael in demonstrating some of the ideas introduced during the class. Their recorded demonstration offers a glimpse of this exchange and the rhythmic possibilities explored with the group.
2025 - A WEEKEND OF WORKSHOPS WITH YASMINE
On November 29–30, 2025, Rafael returned to Barcelona for four forró classes with Yasmine at SusuArte in Gràcia.
Rafael proposed the collaboration, and Yasmine organized it locally. The two had previously worked together in Washington, D.C., and this meeting brought their educational partnership to the community where she is based.
The program explored technique and movement vocabulary alongside musicality and creativity. Rafael developed and taught three of the sessions, with Yasmine supporting the instruction and demonstrations. Yasmine developed and taught the fourth, with Rafael assisting her.
Alternating these responsibilities gave participants the opportunity to experience both teachers’ approaches within a shared program.
SOCIAL DANCING AND TIME WITH THE COMMUNITY
Both visits included time on Barcelona’s social dance floors.
In 2022, Rafael attended a party at Cafofo and an outdoor forró gathering in a city park. These encounters extended the visit beyond the workshop and offered opportunities to meet dancers in more informal settings.
The 2025 visit coincided with a weekend of community dance activities, including a live-music party at the same venue as the workshops. Although organized separately from the classes, the party provided another opportunity to dance and spend time with members of the local scene.
RECORDINGS AND EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
The two visits also produced materials that extend the learning beyond the classroom.
The public demonstration with Isabelle documents the musicality work developed in 2022. Video recaps from the 2025 workshops provide a reference for revisiting movements and ideas explored during the collaboration with Yasmine.
Together with photographs from the visits, these recordings preserve a growing record of Rafael’s educational exchanges in Barcelona.
FREE WORKSHOP RECAPS FOR WEBSITE MEMBERS
Video recaps from the 2025 Barcelona workshops are available free of charge to registered members of the Forró New York website.
These short recordings revisit material explored in class and offer a practical reference for continued study. Free registration also provides access to other member-only educational resources on the website.
If you are already signed in, the button below opens the recap page directly. Otherwise, you will be prompted to log in or create a free account.
These resources are separate from the paid online courses.
CONTINUING THE EXCHANGE
The visits in 2022 and 2025 established a connection with Barcelona through different local partners and teaching settings.
Forró New York is based in New York City, and Rafael’s activities in Barcelona take place through occasional collaborations. He remains interested in returning for future workshops and educational exchanges, although no new visit is currently announced.
Join the Forró New York newsletter to receive updates when future visits and workshops are confirmed.
CONTINUE EXPLORING
Explore the wider European forró scene and the educational projects connecting Forró New York with communities beyond NYC.
→ EXPLORE THE HISTORY OF FORRÓ IN EUROPE
→ READ HOW FORRÓ COMMUNITIES GROW OUTSIDE BRAZIL
→ EXPLORE FORRÓ BEYOND NEW YORK
→ EXPLORE THE GLOBAL FORRÓ COMMUNITY