Kadu & Larissa
Kadu Pires
Exposed to Samba by his parents and family, Latin dance has been part of Kadu’s life from infancy. With formal dance training in Samba rock and Pagode (extremely popular Brazilian styles) beginning at the age of fifteen, Kadu’s appetite for professional tuition saw him quickly expand into Zouk-Lambada, Samba no Pé, Hip Hop and even Ballet. In no time Kadu was dancing with the three largest and most popular dance centres in São Paulo; Bar Avenida, Lambar and Carioca Club..Earning the reputation of São Paulo’s, Brazil, ‘youngest professional dancer’, Kadu became a household name when after appearing in a number of television programs. He obtained a two year contract on Mulheres, a famous program aired on the colossus Brazilian Globo Channel.
Four years passed whilst Kadu learnt from and danced with these renowned Latin dancers; during this time Kadu had moved to Rio de Janeiro where he taught Samba de Gafieira, Bolero and Soltinho at Jimmy de Oliveira’s Academy for two years. It was here that he met Larissa Thayane and the pair began performing together at major events including Rio de Janeiro’s Samba World Congress (the biggest and most respected congress in Brazil).
In 2006, after winning a gold medal in Rio de Janeiro’s Conselho Brasileiro de Dança Competition, Kadu and Larissa were invited to perform and conduct workshops in Australia, where they won first place in a Latin dance competition held in Melbourne. Soon after, Kadu and Larissa returned to Australia to take up full time employment with Rio Rhythmics, Australia’s largest Latin dance academy, and the centre for Samba de Gafieira and Zouk-Lambada in the Asia Pacific region.
Now a veteran of over 40 world class festivals and congresses, Kadu is an internationally recognized performer of the highest caliber and a greatly sought after instructor.
Larissa Thayane
Enjoying a sixteen year career Larissa began dancing jazz at the tender age of eight, expanding into classical ballet within two years. After competing in numerous high profile festivals of contemporary and classical dance – including the CBDD Rio de Janeiro Dance Festival, Curitiba Dance Festival, Joinville Dance Festival and Belo Horizonte Dance Festival – she was recognised as a professional classical dancer by Escola de Danças Classicas do Teatro Guaira (the School of Classic and Contemporary Dance of the Guaira Theatre) in Curitiba, Parana at only seventeen years of age. Born in Campo Mourão, Brazil, Larissa moved in 2002 to Rio de Janeiro where she started working with the contemporary and classic dance companies Cia Jovem El Paso do Rio de Janeiro and Thalmah Cia de Danca Contemporanea. Within a year Larissa was teaching Ballet to beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels at Centro de Dancas Rio (Ballet Dance Academy in Rio de Janeiro). It was during her time here that she discovered Latin Dance. After falling in love with Jimmy`s Samba de Gafieira style, Larissa started lessons in Samba de Gafieira at Jimmy`s Academy, where she was soon invited to join Jimmy de Oliveira`s Company. After teaming up with Kadu Pires, Larissa also joined Alex de Carvalho’s Academy where her passion for the Zouk-Lambada style became absolute. In 2006 Larissa and Kadu were invited to perform and conduct workshops in Australia, where they won first place in a Latin dance competition held in Melbourne, before returning to Rio de Janeiro to win a gold medal in the Conselho Brasileiro de Dança Competition. But the return to Brazil would be brief, as soon after, Larissa and Kadu returned to Australia to take up full time employment with Rio Rhythmics, Australia’s largest Latin dance academy, and the center for Samba de Gafieira and Zouk-Lambada in the Asia Pacific region.
Now a veteran of over 40 world class festivals and congresses, Larissa is an internationally recognized performer of the highest caliber and a greatly sought after instructor.
www.kadularissa.com
