We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Melissa Corpus a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Melissa, thanks for joining us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

I’ve often asked myself this question so many times. Do I wish I had started my Samba career earlier? NO. I’m glad Samba came into my life when it did. It’s almost hard to imagine my life without Samba since it’s been a part of my adult life for over 12 years. Before Samba became a massive part of my life, I was still involved with dance and teaching Latin dances such as Salsa. I was also working a full-time administrative job and putting myself through college. When I began training in Samba, it was one of the most humbling and energizing experiences I’ve ever had. I knew nothing about this dance, but everything was about Samba, Brazilian music, and Culture from my first class.

I was in my late twenties when I began to perform Samba. I fell in love with how wonderful and exhilarating it was to teach my body how to move in such ways that it’s never before. I was mesmerized by the music, the drums, the joy, and how I danced for ME in those moments. I was at a point in my life where I was a working adult, a caretaker for my mother, a student, and just trying to balance everything. Dancing and performing Samba gave me so much to look forward to in those tough times, and I also made a great network of friends who loved Samba just as much as I did. As I turned thirty, I felt more assured about who I was as a person and what I wanted out of life. I knew I wanted to have it all, meaning I wanted a career; a degree (which I was the first in my family to achieve), and I wanted to be there for my mother and take care of her as much as I could, and I wanted to dance. I somehow made it work even if I didn’t have much time to myself. I was grateful to be in a place where I knew what I wanted. I also believe it was a miracle to have Samba in life when I did, as one of the most challenging moments of my life happened in 2013 when my mother passed away. At this point, I had begun teaching weekly Samba classes, directing a community Samba group, and dreaming of having my own dance company. I know if I were younger, I wouldn’t be able to have done all that I did without the experiences I had gone through. I believe my journey with Samba happened when it was supposed to, and I have no regrets about starting when I did.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

In the dance community, most people know me as “Meli.” I’ve taught Brazilian Samba, the famous dance of Brazilian Carnaval, for over ten years and founded MeliSamba Dance Company in 2016. My mission in teaching Samba and having a dance company is to spread awareness of the beauty of Brazilian culture through music and dance while bringing the joy and energy of Carnaval to the community and events. Austin has a growing Samba community, and we are grateful to share our passion with the people of Austin and throughout Texas and beyond.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being creative is seeing all the ideas and madness that go through your mind come to fruition, like choreography.  Nothing makes me happier than a studio full of smiling Sambistas (Samba dancers) who forget about real life for that moment and are dancing and having fun. For our MeliSamba shows, when we get people up and dancing with us, seeing their smiles and knowing we are creating a unique experience, that’s the most rewarding feeling ever.

Have you ever had to pivot?

There have been a handful of times when I had to push pause on teaching my Samba classes or not perform due to life or career reasons. I had a tough time balancing this earlier in my relationship with my now husband and learned a lot about compromise and how change doesn’t have to be scary. I also wasn’t listening to my body and overall well-being as well as I should have, and it took injuries to make me slow down and realize that to keep going, I had to give myself a chance to breathe and recuperate. This awareness helped me tremendously as I now saw I needed to provide as much energy to my relationship and other aspects of my life as I did to my dance career. Having that awareness is key to juggling so many passions simultaneously. .

Contact Info:

• Website: www.melisamba.com
• Instagram: @melisamba_atx
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MeliSambATX
• Youtube: MeliSamba_ATX

Image Credits
@stivwho