One of the most popular dances of Brazil, Forró is in İstanbul. Forró Istanbul is
presenting its first forró festival in this great city of Istanbul on 10-13th of August: Forró a
la Turca!
Forró is a very popular couples dance from the northeast of Brazil. It is becoming also
popular in Europe thanks to numerous Brazilian musicians and dancers since the
beginning of the 2000s. Forró İstanbul, which is a not for profit community, is aiming to
introduce this dance in Turkey. Since 2014 they are giving classes and organizing
workshops with Brazilian guest teachers and event, almost acting like voluntary unofficial
Brazilian Culture ambassadors. For Forró Istanbul, it is not only a dance or music but
it is also part of a culture they feel belong to.
This year the festival is going to host important names of the Forró scene, who helped
Forró grow in Europe. These guests are Marion Lima, Anax Caracol, Enrique Matos,
Wellington Figueiredo, Jorge do Rojão, Fabiano Santana, Fabio Cruz, Marcelo
Marcelo Jordão, Helio Faria, Rudolfo Batista and Sarah Lein. They are all coming to
Istanbul to share their passion for this dance and music. Don’t miss the chance to join
this joy between 10-13th of August.
Forró a la Turca Festival is starting the festival with an open-air concert by a Brazilian band
at Grandpera Istanbul in Istiklal Street on the 10th of August, Friday.
‘Arrumadinho a la Turca’ is a band specially formed for the Forró a la Turca Festival
2018 with Brazilian Forró musicians Fábio Cruz, Jorge do Rojão and Enrique Matos.
The workshops of the dance will be held at the creative hub of Istanbul,
Bomontiada, within the Alt Performance Center on Saturday and Sunday between
12:00 and 17:30.
If you are a beginner or a student, you can enjoy special discounts and
learn this beautiful dance from Brazilian teachers. There will be classes for all levels, so don’t be shy.
The festival will blossom with an amazing concert at the open-air concert venue of Bomontiada on 11th of August, Saturday. Fabiano Santana will share the stage with
Rudolfo Batista and Enrique Matos and will play tunes from the northeast of Brazil,
accompanied by Forró dancers. According to Fabiano Santana, “The dance has a
very strong attraction and the words of forró are not meaningless. They tell a
story and culture. Dance brings people together and fuses them together.”
As this music is a part of Northeast Brazil, it cannot end without a beach party,
sand and water are inseparable from Forró. The festival will have its
closure party at Tırmata Beach in Kilyos on Monday, August 13th.
If you want to learn a new dance from Brazil and meet fun and lively people, this
is where you have to be between 10-13th of August. You can check the official website of the festival for more details and to contact the organizers at forroalaturca@gmail.com.
All photos courtesy of the organizer.
