Ilheuma Zezeh is a Washington, DC based dancer, teacher, choreographer, and professional performer of Brazilian samba, and she is the founder of ZEZEH BRAZIL Dance Troupe. Originally from São Paulo, Brazil, Zezeh Zax is a former carnival queen of the Unidos do Peruche samba school located in São Paulo. She has taught and danced professionally for over 15 years in a number of countries including Brazil, the United States, and elsewhere. In 2009, she formed ZEZEH BRAZIL as a dance troupe dedicated to bringing the great beauty, diversity, and vibrancy of Brazilian culture to the United States. Performing a number of styles of Brazilian dance—from traditional samba de roda movements of Bahia to the Afro-influenced pulsing samba reggae rhythms of Pelourinho to the intoxicating carnival batucada styles of Rio de Janeiro.
