Where to Dance Forró in the USA and Canada?
- Rafael Piccolotto de Lima
- Apr 13
- 8 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
The Forró Scene in North America
For those passionate about forró, or for those who have recently become curious about this Brazilian partner dance, finding places to dance forró in the United States and Canada is not always straightforward.
Despite being a major cultural expression in Brazil - and one that has grown significantly across Europe over the past decade - the forró scene in North America is still in its early stages of development.
At the same time, it already exists in meaningful ways, with active forró communities spread across several cities in the USA and Canada.
This article is a personal mapping of these scenes based on years of experience traveling, teaching, organizing events, and connecting with communities across North America.
A Scene in Development
I feel both joy and responsibility in being part of this movement, especially in one of its most active hubs - New York City.
Over the years, I have met people, visited cities with emerging scenes, and even organized small forró tours with guest teachers to better understand and support these communities.
This article comes directly from those experiences. From travel, encounters, and long-term observation. It is a living map of the forró scene in North America.
On one hand, it helps dancers find active communities. On the other, it invites reflection and collaboration to continue building something meaningful around this culture.
Passion-Driven Forró Communities in the USA and Canada
Many forró scenes in North America can be described as passion projects. They are created by people who love the dance and want to make it exist locally, often without institutional support.
My own journey started the same way. I created a website to support the New York scene back in 2017 and began teaching to help build a clear entry point for new dancers.
See some photos from the beginnings of our educational project in NYC:
As far as I know, most forró scenes in North America are built in this way - through volunteers or semi-volunteer work, often with symbolic compensation rather than full-time professional structures.
Structure, Limits, and Reality
In most other cities, organizers and teachers are not fully dedicated to forró as their main profession. The same is often true for musicians. Bands do exist and perform regularly, but forró is usually only one part of their artistic activity, unlike in Brazil where many artists live primarily from the forró ecosystem.
This defines both the authenticity and the limitations of the scene.
On one hand, it shows a deeply genuine origin driven by passion rather than commercial structure. On the other, it naturally limits scale, consistency, and long-term development.
Small Oases for Forrozeiros
Even so, these scenes function as small oases. Places where people who love forró can meet, dance, and connect. Even in smaller formats, they carry enormous cultural value. They keep the dance alive and slowly expanding across North America.
Forró Scenes in North America (Overview)
When looking at the forró scene in North America, it makes more sense to think in terms of structure and continuity rather than geography alone.
We can identify a core scene, major historical hubs, active regional scenes, smaller communities, and emerging or fragmented initiatives.
A Core Scene: New York City
New York City is likely the most active and structured forró scene in the United States today.
It features weekly activities, often more than one social dance event per week, as well as regular classes across different levels and teachers. (click here for tickets to the next events produced by Forró New York)
It is also home to the Forró New York Weekend. A seasonal festival organized by Forró New York that has become the most consistent forró event series in the US, now approaching 20 editions.
New York represents the most stable and continuous forró ecosystem in North America. If you want to learn more about the forró scene in NYC, I wrote a blog about it, click here to read.
Boston: host of a Brazilian Community and a Big Festival
Boston holds a very important place in the history of forró in North America. It hosted some of the largest forró events ever organized in the region, particularly the Forró Fest USA, which welcomed many artists and teachers from Brazil and Europe over the years.
See some photos from their inaugural edition, back in 2017:
In terms of single-event scale for social dancers, these remain among the biggest forró gatherings ever held in the United States.
Boston also has a strong Brazilian community, which supports these initiatives.
Watch a video from a demo I did in partnership with Camila Alves at their festival (2019):
However, unlike New York, Boston does not have the same level of continuous weekly structure. Its scene tends to be more cyclical and event-based.
West Coast Forró Scenes in the United States
On the US West Coast, forró exists in a more distributed form. Cities like San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Diego all have recurring initiatives.
While there is generally no fully continuous system of weekly classes led by dedicated full-time forró professionals, there are ongoing parties, workshops, and community events that keep the dance alive.
These are more fluid and decentralized scenes, but still active and meaningful.
Smaller and Intermittent Scenes in the US
In other regions of the United States, forró appears more sporadically.
Chicago has had moments of stronger activity, including the organization of a festival at one point.
On the East Coast, beyond New York and Boston, there are smaller communities in Washington DC and Philadelphia.
Some photos from the events I co-produced in DC in 2025:
Some photos from the events I co-produced in Philadelphia in 2025:
These scenes are usually based on occasional workshops and social events, without long-term structured weekly programming.
Florida: the Potential
Florida, especially Miami, is a unique case. One might expect it to be one of the strongest forró scenes in the United States due to its proximity to Brazil and large Brazilian population.
However, the scene has not developed into a continuous structure.
I personally lived in Miami between 2011 and 2016 and, during that time, I could not find a single forró event. More recently, new initiatives have appeared, and they continue to contribute to the development of the local community, even if the scene is still in a formative stage.
There have been various initiatives, including festivals, parties, and attempts to build regular activities. Overall, what exists is a set of efforts that reflect strong engagement from individuals passionate about forró, even if they are not yet fully integrated into a long-term coordinated framework.
Most events seem to be located in the North Miami and Boca Raton area.
They have an active WhatsApp group (like most other scenes), and it is largely composed of Brazilians communicating in Portuguese, which suggests that integration with the international or American population is still an evolving process rather than an established condition.
More broadly, what emerges is a pattern of intermittent activity rather than a consolidated system. This does not diminish the importance of the initiatives themselves, but rather describes a stage where activities are still forming connections over time. In that sense, Miami shares similarities with Boston. Both cities have a significant Brazilian population and clear potential in terms of audience and interest in forró. However, in both cases, long-term continuity of classes and pedagogical structures is still developing - such as multi-year cycles with the same instructors, sustained group progression, and ongoing content and outreach. Teachers often initiate projects, form groups, remain active for a period, and then transition to other phases of work.
There are also enthusiastic efforts to organize festivals and bring musicians from Brazil. These play an important role in keeping the scene active and connected to broader networks, even when they occur as standalone events rather than recurring traditions.
Another scene worth mentioning in Florida is Jacksonville. They have a small but active forró scene, with regular classes and local community efforts. It remains a developing scene within the broader Florida context.
Forró in Canada
Canada hosts some of the most interesting and active forró scenes in North America.
Toronto and Montreal are the biggest and most active communities in Canada. Both cities have engaged communities and have hosted events and festivals over the years.
I have visited both multiple times for tours and festivals, and consistently found active participation from both Brazilian and international dancers.
After New York and Boston, they are likely among the most relevant forró scenes in North America in terms of consistency and community engagement.
Montreal was one of the first - if not the first - cities in North America to host a forró festival. This is especially notable given that it was initiated by a non-Brazilian (Mohammed Mhirit, a Canadian originally from Morocco), which highlights how strongly the international community has embraced the culture. In many ways, this reflects the nature of the Montreal scene itself: diverse, with Canadians and people of many backgrounds engaging deeply with forró alongside Brazilians. The city maintains an active ecosystem with recurring festivals, local bands, park gatherings for social dancing, and educators continuously forming new dancers, keeping the scene alive and evolving.
Toronto also has a relatively large and engaged forró community, but its development followed a slightly different path. For a long time, the scene was strongly centered around Brazilian students studying in the city, with classes even taking place within a space at the University of Toronto. Over time, however, the community expanded beyond this core group, as additional teachers arrived and new initiatives emerged. This combination of academic-linked beginnings and later diversification helped establish a steady but evolving scene, with ongoing classes, social dances, and community-led activities.
Beyond Toronto and Montreal, Vancouver, Quebec and Ottawa are also worth mentioning.
Vancouver has known initiatives, although I have not personally had the opportunity to experience the scene directly or meet its members in other US-based events.
Ottawa and Quebec follows a pattern similar to smaller US cities like Philadelphia and DC. It is geographically close to larger hubs, which helps sustain occasional local initiatives. There are community efforts and occasional events, but not yet a fully consolidated scene.
Conclusion
Today, it is clear that a forró scene exists in North America. There are real spaces where Brazilian dancers and international students of forró can meet, dance, and connect. There are also important entry points for people discovering the dance for the first time.
At the same time, forró is still small when compared to more established dance communities in North America, such as salsa, which has a much longer history and broader infrastructure.
This article is not a fixed description but a living map. It will likely need updates in the coming years as new scenes emerge and others evolve. The hope is that North America continues to grow as a meaningful space for people who love forró.
If you know of scenes that are not mentioned here, feel free to reach out or leave a comment. And if you are thinking about starting or supporting a local scene, I am always open to conversations.
Over the years, I have helped several scenes in the US directly and indirectly, and I strongly believe that collaboration is one of the most important forces behind the sustainability of this culture abroad.
It is what allows projects to exist, grow, and eventually support deeper artistic work within the world of forró.
About the author
Rafael Piccolotto de Lima is an experienced teacher. He is passionate about arts, a doctor of musical arts, and a Latin Grammy nominee as a composer. For him, all forms of expression are somehow related. Based on that premise, his interest and work have a wide spectrum: from a tail tux at a concert hall, to the dance shoes at a worn-out dance floor. Born in Campinas, São Paulo - Brazil, now he lives at the NYC area, teaches weekly forró classes in Manhattan and produces some of the best forró festivals in North-America.
Website: www.rafaelpdelima.com
YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/rafaelpdelima
Instagram: www.instagram.com/rafaelpiccolottodelima/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RafaelPiccolottodeLima/
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