Luiz Badaró, founding artistic director, critically acclaimed master dancer, choreographer, percussionist, and educator, was born in Salvador, Bahia, and has been choreographing and performing for over thirty years in Brazil, Europe, Africa, Japan and the United States. His influence is indispensable to Viver Brasil’s cultural integrity, technical and artistic vitality, and dancer training. Badaró’s exalted choreography is inspired by both the traditional and contemporary worlds of Afro-Brazilian culture. The Los Angeles Times called his choreography “intoxicating... irrepressible... Brazilian to the core.” He teaches Afro-Brazilian dance in a number of arts education programs throughout Los Angeles County and has been teaching Afro-Brazilian dance in the community at Dance Arts Academy since 2000 and collaborates with Linda Yudin in the UCLA World Arts and Cultures/Dance Department.