The U.S. Consulate General in Rio de Janeiro brought a renowned U.S. hip hop choreographer, dancer and dance instructor, Bryan Tanaka, to interact with Brazilian and international dancers at Rio de Janeiro Hip Hop Kemp (Rio H2K), the largest international street dance festival in Brazil. Bryan Tanaka, who is famous for having choreographed and danced with music stars including Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Lady Gaga, and Madonna, is one of the most sought after hip hop dance professionals in the world. He has participated in the Grammy, MTV Video Music Awards and European Music Awards, and is an instructor of the famous Millennium Dance Complex in Los Angeles. In Rio de Janeiro between May 29 and June 7, 2005, Bryan Tanaka shared his experience with the festival participants at four dance workshops at Leopoldina Train Station (June 4 and 5) and the Cidade das Artes (June 5), for an audience that totaled 1,500 young dancers, with many participants coming to Rio from different Brazilian states and abroad, with the specific purpose of attending the festival. On June 6, Tanaka also taught an intensive masterclass for 40 advanced dance students at Deborah Colker Movement Center.
As a parallel program to Rio H2K, the U.S. Consulate General in partnership with AfroReggae Cultural Group invited Bryan Tanaka to participate in a special workshop for 40 youth from Rio de Janeiro and Belém do Pará. Tanaka inspired the young dancers and circus performers when he talked about his career stressing hard work, perseverance, humility, and generosity as keys to success in any field. An hour-long dance workshop ensued, after which Tanaka attended dance and circus performances organized by AfroReggae as a special gift for him.
In an Instagram post, Tanaka described the AfroReggae workshop as “an awesome and humbling experience, one of the highlights of my trip.” His visit received extensive press and TV coverage, including an interview for Globo News cable TV’s program “Estúdio I”.
