Selma Mylene, 26, recently recognized as one of the 100 most influential young people in Portuguese speaking by the Neoafrican Academy, has taught thousands of students, first in a studio in Portugal and now online, from Switzerland, where she is studying.
The covid-19 pandemic required it, but this method of distance learning is not new to the dancer who has been contacted by people who live in several countries and who, after knowing her way of dancing, ask her for classes online.
"In March I went to Chile and I was surprised to see 50 students in a room who knew a lot about afro house and kuduro and who were really committed to learning this dance style," she told Lusa.
The mark of her dance, which Selma defines as "very free, with loose movements, with energy and movements from head to toe", has traveled the world and arrived in Japan.
"I did a training for a group of Japanese people and I found their dedication extraordinary. And soon I will participate in a 'workshop' for participants in Russia," she said.
The dancer believes that kuduro and afro house are here to stay and are no longer just a fashion.
"People are curious about all the movement and freedom of this dance and want to learn and, above all, feel," she said, referring that the part of the body that she loves the most and that is always in motion is the waist.
The number of students and followers and the appointment of the Academia Neoafricana are seen by Selma as the recognition of a journey that began a decade ago, when she still lived in the Algarve she danced in nightclubs, where she started to show.
But it was still at school that she had her first contact with hip-hop, a musical style in which she soon stood out, inspired by the songs of Chris Brown, the rapper, composer and dancer.
The jump to afro house and kuduro was natural, taking into account the Angolan roots of the family. And it is to music that she owes much of what she learned about Angola, which she visited in 2018 and 2019 and where she had the "pleasure of dancing".
Early in her career, the Algarve became small for Selma's dance as she started receiving several invitations to events in Lisbon, the city where she ended up moving as soon as she finished her studies.
She had the help of singer MC Gasolina and, later, the support of singer Blaya, from Buraka Som Sistema, a group that filmed a video clip in which Selma participated ("Vuvuzela").
This and other participations in the Portuguese music scene opened up frontiers and Selma started to be approached by onlookers all over the world, which led her to give classes online, even though the pandemic had not forced it.
"I have many foreign students, people who go to Portugal for holidays, observe the style and want to learn. The style arouses a lot of curiosity, which is very positive," she said.
On the other hand, she added, many Angolan singers come to Portugal to record their video clips and look for the dancers for whom they already have references.
When she gave classes in a studio in Portugal, Selma essentially had students: "I don't know the reason, but maybe my style of adapting more to women. My dance is joy, love, soul".
Ingredients that she tries to transmit, even through a computer, starting by telling a little about the history of afro house and kuduro, although she doesn't insist on the theory, because the dancer knows that what the students look for is to learn the "touches".
Homework involves training footwork, a style of electronic dance music, with the help of Internet links that Selma sends to students.
"It is incredible the dedication of those who want to learn this dance. My students are super dedicated and even outside classes they send videos, they want to know my opinion about some steps, there is a call forever", she said.
Selma Mylene currently lives only on dance. As she cannot participate in shows and recordings, due to covid-19, she invests more in classes. But she misses the stages and the streets full of people, amazed by her energy.
"I have to be strategic, I need to reach people, show them that they can do it, wherever they are," she said.
And he concludes: "Dance is my passion, my job, what I always dreamed of doing".
