LEARN FORRÓ ONLINE
Structured online forró training for social dancers.
Develop rhythm, musicality, coordination, creativity, and movement understanding through independent practice and progressive training.
Learn the individual skills behind social dancing - and apply them in classes, workshops, festivals, and real dance environments.
For all levels, from beginner to advanced.
LEARN FORRÓ ONLINE FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD
This is a map of our online visitors and participants from these past years.
Online training designed for dancers who want to develop rhythm, coordination, musicality, body awareness, and movement fluency through consistent practice.
The program focuses on the capacities that can be developed independently and later applied in social dancing, workshops, festivals, and partner work.
Whether you are starting from zero or refining years of experience, the goal is to help you build a clearer, more musical, and more connected dance.
WHY ONLINE LEARNING WORKS FOR SOCIAL DANCERS
Many of the most important skills behind social dancing can be developed individually.
Rhythm, timing, coordination, body awareness, movement fluency, musical listening, and improvisational understanding are all capacities that improve through focused practice and repetition.
The goal of this program is not to replace social dancing, but to strengthen the individual tools that make social dancing feel more natural, musical, creative, and connected.
The online format allows dancers to revisit concepts, train consistently, observe their own movement more carefully, and develop understanding at their own pace.
These skills later transfer directly into classes, workshops, festivals, and real social dance environments.
ABOUT THE ONLINE FORRÓ LEARNING PROGRAM
Forró New York is a forró project based in New York City that offers structured online learning for dancers worldwide.
Founded by dancer, musician, Latin Grammy-nominated composer, arranger, and educator Rafael Piccolotto de Lima, the program approaches forró not only as movement, but as rhythm, musical structure, body organization, creativity, and social interaction.
The online ecosystem combines guided independent practice with concepts developed through years of teaching in classes, workshops, festivals, and social dance environments in New York City and internationally.
Rather than focusing only on memorizing figures or combinations, the system helps dancers develop the individual capacities that support social dancing: rhythm awareness, movement understanding, musicality, coordination, creativity, and partner connection.
LEARN AT YOUR OWN PACE, FROM ANYWHERE
This program gives you flexible access to progressive forró training with guided independent practice and long-term development.
You can study at your own pace, revisit lessons anytime, repeat exercises, and progressively deepen your understanding of movement, rhythm, and musicality.
The online format gives dancers time to revisit concepts, observe movement more carefully, refine coordination through repetition, and gradually build consistency over time.
Designed for dancers who want:
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structured learning instead of scattered tutorials
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flexibility in how and when they study
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guided independent practice
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access to international instructors and workshops
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a consistent path for developing rhythm, body awareness, musicality, and social dance skills
A PREVIEW OF THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE
This short video gives you a glimpse into how the online classes are structured and how the material is approached throughout the program.
The focus is not only on teaching isolated movements, but on helping dancers develop rhythm, coordination, musical understanding, and clarity through progressive practice and repetition.
Inside the ecosystem, lessons combine detailed explanations, repetition, movement breakdowns, musical application, and real social dance context.
STRUCTURED LEARNING WITH REAL DANCE CONTEXT
The core of this ecosystem is structured online training focused on rhythm, movement understanding, musicality, body awareness, coordination, and social dance development.
Alongside the guided practice systems, the program also includes material recorded in real dance environments, such as:
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workshops and classes recorded in New York City
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international festival sessions
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social dance and partner interaction contexts
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classes with guest instructors from different backgrounds and styles
These materials help dancers understand how the concepts explored individually translate into real social dancing situations, partner interaction, improvisation, and musical communication.
The goal is not isolated technical training, but developing tools that become usable and meaningful on the dance floor.
FROM FOUNDATIONS TO MOVEMENT FLUENCY
This video presents part of the movement vocabulary and progression explored throughout the learning ecosystem, from beginner foundations to more developed coordination, rhythm, transitions, and movement combinations.
Rather than teaching isolated figures, the goal is to help dancers understand how movement develops progressively through rhythm, body organization, repetition, musicality, and practical application.
The material combines solo development, technical foundations, and social dance vocabulary in a way that supports more fluid, musical, and connected dancing over time.
A COMPLETE FORRÓ DEVELOPMENT ECOSYSTEM
Rather than focusing only on isolated classes or movement combinations, the ecosystem is organized around different dimensions of development that support social dancing from multiple perspectives.
Together, these areas help dancers develop rhythm, coordination, musicality, creativity, movement fluency, partner connection, and deeper understanding over time.
FOUNDATIONS
Build rhythm, coordination, body awareness, and movement clarity from the beginning.
Develop the essential vocabulary and movement principles that support social dancing.
MUSICALITY & RHYTHM
Develop timing, listening, syncopation, phrasing, and musical interpretation.
Learn how movement connects directly to what you hear in the music.
BODY DEVELOPMENT & SOLO TRAINING
Improve coordination, conditioning, movement fluency, rhythmic consistency, and movement control through repetition-based practice systems.
(Forró Solo Training + Workout Series)
CREATIVITY & MOVEMENT STRUCTURE
Understand how forró movement is internally organized and develop tools for improvisation, adaptation, and creative dancing.
CONNECTION & SOCIAL DANCE
Develop partner communication, embrace, responsiveness, comfort, and relational awareness in social dancing.
(Connection & Embrace in Forró)
EXPANDED LEARNING & COMMUNITY
Access workshops, guest instructors, festival material, and multiple perspectives from the international forró community.
MEET THE INSTRUCTOR
Rafael Piccolotto de Lima
is the Founder and Educational Director of Forró New York, where he has been teaching forró classes and developing the project’s educational programs since 2017.
He is a Latin Grammy-nominated composer, arranger, music director, and educator whose teaching approach connects rhythm, musical structure, body organization, creativity, and social dance development.
Drawing from both music and dance, his work focuses on helping dancers understand not only movements themselves, but the principles, timing, coordination, and musical relationships behind them.
GUEST INSTRUCTORS
Since 2020, dancers, instructors, and artists from Brazil, Europe, and the international forró scene have been invited to collaborate as part of the Forró New York online educational ecosystem.
Many of these guest instructors had already participated previously in Forró New York classes, workshops, festivals, and special events in New York City before contributing to the online platform.
These collaborations bring different perspectives, teaching approaches, movement styles, and cultural experiences into the program, expanding the learning environment beyond a single methodology or viewpoint.
The content explores a wide range of topics related to forró and social dancing, including musicality, body awareness, styling, movement technique, creativity, partner connection, footwork, social dance dynamics, and both traditional and contemporary approaches to forró.
Alongside the structured core programs, these guest workshops and special classes help students experience the diversity, depth, and evolving nature of the international forró community.
STUDENT EXPERIENCES
Dancers from different countries and backgrounds use the program to develop rhythm, musicality, body awareness, creativity, coordination, and social dance skills through independent practice and long-term training.
“Rafael’s approach to music and rhythm is completely different to what is out there and it has changed the way I dance forever.”
Lívia Silva (New York)
“I’ve learned that with any song, you can make it your own and experiment new things with your body.”
Tuomas Ranta (San Francisco)
“Practicing challenging moves, working on balance, and learning from a diversity of teachers have really helped grow my skills and confidence.”
Carey Dufey (New York)
“It feels like he is teaching us how to perform individual notes and then create new ‘music’ with our bodies and feet.”
Angelica Vargas Prada (San Francisco)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can you really learn forró online?
Yes - especially the individual capacities that support social dancing.
Rhythm, timing, coordination, body awareness, movement fluency, musical listening, balance, creativity, and movement understanding can all be developed through guided independent practice.
The goal of the program is not to replace social dancing, but to help dancers build stronger individual tools that later improve their experience in classes, workshops, festivals, and social dance environments.
Do I need a partner to practice?
No.
Most of the system is specifically designed around individual development and solo practice.
Many important aspects of forró can be trained independently, including rhythm, coordination, body organization, musicality, timing, movement quality, transitions, footwork, improvisation, and movement vocabulary.
→ Read more: Do You Need a Partner to Learn Dance? How It Works in Forró
Can you learn dance even if you think you have no rhythm?
Yes.
Rhythm is not something fixed that you either have or do not have. It can be developed progressively through listening, repetition, coordination training, movement awareness, and guided practice.
Many dancers who initially feel disconnected from rhythm improve significantly once they understand how rhythm works in the body and in the music.
→ Read more: Can You Learn How to Dance With No Rhythm? Yes - Here’s How
Is this program beginner friendly?
Yes.
The Beginners Course was created specifically for dancers starting from zero or from a very early stage.
The material introduces rhythm, movement vocabulary, coordination, body awareness, and the fundamental principles behind social dancing through progressive practice.
→ Read more: Is Forró Hard to Learn? Why It’s One of the Most Accessible Partner Dances
→ Read more: What Are the Basic Steps of Forró?
How does online practice improve social dancing?
Online practice helps dancers develop the individual skills that later become usable in social dance environments.
Through repetition, movement analysis, rhythm training, and musical listening, dancers improve coordination, body control, timing, creativity, and movement fluency.
These capacities later transfer into partner interaction, improvisation, musical response, and overall comfort on the dance floor.
Can I study at my own pace?
Yes.
All classes and materials are available online and can be revisited anytime.
Students can repeat exercises, revisit concepts, and progressively deepen their understanding according to their own rhythm and schedule.
What is included in the Full Access Membership?
The Full Access Membership includes access to the complete online educational ecosystem created by Forró New York.
This includes the Beginners Course, Musicality Course, Forró Solo Training, Forró Workout Series, The Language of Forró, Connection & Embrace in Forró, workshop libraries with guest instructors, festival material, and additional educational resources.