A BRISBANE dancer is offering Brazilian Samba classes in the Redlands after performing as Australia's first muse in Rio Carnival.
Mishel Finlayson said Brazilian Samba was a great way for women to get fit and boost their confidence.
She had taught the solo dance style for the past eight years at Brisbane and was expanding lessons to the Redlands, where her family lived.
She said the move had come after she trained a Thornlands-based dance instructor in the style.
A free trial lesson will be hosted at Victoria Point's Enso Yoga studio, opposite Cineplex car parking, from 7.30pm to 8.30pm on Monday, May 13.
A six-week course will then be delivered from Monday, May 20 for women wanting to know more.
Ms Finlayson said Brazilian Samba lessons allowed women to have fun. The solo style was danced to lively and rhythmical music that was of Afro-Brazilian origins.
Ms Finlayson also helped her students to work towards dancing in an entourage at the Rio Carnival.
"Brazilian Samba is a fabulous way for women to get fit, increase their confidence, connect with their femininity, improve their mental health and connect with a new community and culture," Ms Finlayson said.
Ms Finlayson said she had spent the past 15 years perfecting Brazilian Samba and learning the Portuguese language.
The hard work paid off in March when she represented Rio's oldest Samba school, Estacio de Sa, as one of its lead dancers in Rio Carnival.
She danced in front of the school's top division float as its muse. She was subordinate to only one other dancer, which was the division's queen.
Ms Finlayson was the first Australian to achieve the position and was profiled by Brazilian Vogue because of it.
For more information, visit sambaliscious.com.au.
