O baiano Slim Mello saiu de Salvador pra morar em Nova York, onde dança no prestigiado Balé Alvin Ailey, do American Dance Theater. Aliás, ele é o único brasileiro da companhia. Todo ano Slim pega sua fantasia dos Filhos de Gandhy e vai desfilar junto ao cortejo das baianas, na Lavagem de Nova York. A foto é de Marcos Vasconcelos.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not only is Mr. Mello artistically versatile in the dance genres of Ballet, Modern and Contemporary dance, but he is also well trained in Capoeira and Afro-Brazilian dance. “Capoeira is a unique mix of dance and the martial art of Afro-Brazilian origin, combining agile dance moves with unarmed combat techniques. Capoeira in Portuguese literally means “chicken coop.” The presence of capoeira in Brazil is directly connected to the importation of African slaves by the Portuguese, and Salvador is considered the center of origin of the modern capoeira branches.” (Wikipedia)
DanceBrazil – Ritmos (The Dance, The Capoeira)
He has trained at places such as Grupo de Dança do Liceu de Artes, a scholarship student at the Bolshoi School in Brazil all under the instruction of Beth Rangel, Dimitry Afanasiev, and the legend Vladimir Vasiliev.
Finally in the summer of 2009, Slim had a chance to come to New York City as a scholarship student of The Ailey School awarded to him by Denise Jefferson. It was on July 2nd, the day that started a new journey for this young dancer who just arrived in the big apple with only $100.00 dollars in his pocket. But none of this would have been possible without the help of one of his mentors and idols Carlos Dos Santos, a former member of Ailey II and Complexions Dance and the phenomenal pianist, Vassily Primakov. These two people are so important in Slim’s life with their support and never-ending hospitality and love.