Mahea Uchiyama Center for International Dance
Mahea Uchiyama Center for International Dance, 1800 Dwight Way, Berkeley, CA 94703
About
Mahea Uchiyama Center for International Dance offers classes in styles such as Bharatanatyam, Hula, and 'Ori Tahiti. The program also includes Brazilian Dance Classes for Children, Latin Rhythms, Latin Dance Cardio, and Salsa Happy Hour, as well as Pilates Mat & Barre, Pilates-based Fitness, Functional Barre-lates, and Zoom language classes including Hawaiian language. Students can also take part in special workshops and programs such as Kapili, the African American Mbira Project, and DARE Performing Arts Workshops.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
The Mahea Uchiyama Center for International Dance states that its mission is to connect all people through traditional dance and music in order to foster a greater understanding of shared human history and promote cross-cultural communication. The center is a 501(C)(3) non-profit organization and is grateful for the generosity of its sponsors and funders. It offers students of all ages and abilities the chance to experience dance, music, and culture from Hawai’i, Polynesia, Africa, and Asia through access to master teachers through classes and workshops at the studio and elsewhere, and it hosts in-studio dance classes in multiple international styles including Bharatanatyam, Hula, 'Ori Tahiti, and Brazilian dance. The center also offers Zoom language classes including Hawaiian language.
Instructor Weslei Guimarães is a Dance Instructor, Choreographer, Performer, and Director from the favelas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, whose dance repertoire includes Samba no Pe, Brazilian Ballroom (Samba de Gafieira, Bolero, Forró), and Baile Funk. He is the winner of the Brazilian National Bolero Championship, Estilizando Bolero (Brazil, 2016), has participated in numerous Comissões de Frente in Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro, and has been hired as a dancer for Brazilian television entertainment similar to the U.S. program Dancing with the Stars, as well as appearing in news segments as a dancer on Brazilian and American TV channels. He created Northern California’s first comprehensive Dança de Salão (Brazilian Ballroom Dance) program, Gafieira SF, and in 2020 was invited to teach at the International Samba Congress, described as the largest Brazilian dance congress in the United States. For the last 5 years, he has worked as an afterschool program dance and fitness instructor for kids ages 5–14 years, including those with different learning abilities, and in 2023 he opened his first dance school in Berkeley, CA. He currently serves as Director of Talent Development, Choreographer, and Principal Dancer with Estrelas do Samba Dance Company and teaches ongoing classes at Mahea Uchiyama Center for International Dance.
Last updated June 20, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
The Mahea Uchiyama Center for International Dance states that its mission is to connect all people through traditional dance and music in order to foster a greater understanding of shared human history and promote cross-cultural communication. The center is a 501(C)(3) non-profit organization and is grateful for the generosity of its sponsors and funders. It offers students of all ages and abilities the chance to experience dance, music, and culture from Hawai’i, Polynesia, Africa, and Asia through access to master teachers through classes and workshops at the studio and elsewhere, and it hosts in-studio dance classes in multiple international styles including Bharatanatyam, Hula, 'Ori Tahiti, and Brazilian dance. The center also offers Zoom language classes including Hawaiian language.
Instructor Weslei Guimarães is a Dance Instructor, Choreographer, Performer, and Director from the favelas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, whose dance repertoire includes Samba no Pe, Brazilian Ballroom (Samba de Gafieira, Bolero, Forró), and Baile Funk. He is the winner of the Brazilian National Bolero Championship, Estilizando Bolero (Brazil, 2016), has participated in numerous Comissões de Frente in Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro, and has been hired as a dancer for Brazilian television entertainment similar to the U.S. program Dancing with the Stars, as well as appearing in news segments as a dancer on Brazilian and American TV channels. He created Northern California’s first comprehensive Dança de Salão (Brazilian Ballroom Dance) program, Gafieira SF, and in 2020 was invited to teach at the International Samba Congress, described as the largest Brazilian dance congress in the United States. For the last 5 years, he has worked as an afterschool program dance and fitness instructor for kids ages 5–14 years, including those with different learning abilities, and in 2023 he opened his first dance school in Berkeley, CA. He currently serves as Director of Talent Development, Choreographer, and Principal Dancer with Estrelas do Samba Dance Company and teaches ongoing classes at Mahea Uchiyama Center for International Dance.
Last updated June 20, 2026.
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