Capoeirista and berimbau player DERALDO FERREIRA is the founder and Artistic Director of the Brazilian Cultural Center of New England, bringing a 30-year tenure in capoeira and a similar lifetime involvement and commitment to samba drumming, musical composition, and choreography to the institution. Of equal importance is Ferreira’s talent and experience as an instructor. He has trained children, teens and adults in his own academy in Santos and in his teaching throughout New England for the past 18 years.

Ferreira began studying capoeira at the age of 14. He created and taught at the Academy of Capoeira in his hometown of Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil. In 1984, he was awarded certification as a Mestre, and soon after, he traveled to North America and became one of the first capoeiristas to bring the art form to the United States and Canada. In addition to his work at the BCCNE, Ferreira currently teaches classes and workshops at Hampshire College, Amherst College, Smith College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, the Dance Complex, and in Sardigna, Italy.