One of the highlights of this year’s Washington DC Zouk & Kizomba Festival was having the chance to interview Bruno Galhardo. Here’s the scoop:

I walked into the ballroom at around 1:30am after a long day at work and a 5-hour bus ride with only one thing on my mind…Bruno Galhardo. After years of stalking him on YouTube, I was finally going to get to meet him in person! I had no trouble picking him out of the crowd, of course. He stuck out above all the rest. Not just because of his slick dance moves but because of the mass of dancers that had formed around him. All of them stood by watching in awe as he would mold his follower’s body effortlessly into his and into these intricate shapes. I had no idea what to expect when I asked him to dance. He flashed me a thoughtful smile and extended his hand in acceptance making me forget about everything around me. It was by far the best dance I had all weekend, followed by a few more since I wasn’t going to leave DC without getting my full fix of Bruno.

I think everyone was taken aback by his ability to teach as well, as if being a outstanding dancer wasn’t enough. He would spend his time explaining things thoroughly and in a way that made people clearly understand what he envisioned. He would use many helpful analogies such as, “…keeping the olive from rolling off of the plate (or platter)” while explaining the boneca, causing many in the class to giggle at the humorous concept, while at the same time feeling that switch turn on the light bulb we all keep in our brains. He enjoyed making students laugh and would even go out of his way to be goofy at certain points to break the ice, showing us a modest side to him many of us did not expect.

Thanks to Sami Selo Ahmed, the main organizer of the DC Festival, we were able to meet this talented and humble dancer. I think I speak for a lot of the attendees when I say, Bruno was the highlight of my DC Festival experience and I can’t wait to dance with him again someday!

Watch my exclusive interview with Bruno to find out more about his future plans and, to answer the question all ladies are dying to know…Will he be looking for a new dance partner or will he be rollin’ solo?

-Jessica Carro