Aileen Panke Santos

apanke@cornish.edu

Capoeira Aileen first began exploring dance in New York where she was born and raised. There her studies included foundations in ballet, modern, jazz, tap and theatre dance at studios such as Broadway Dance Center and Phil Black. She began performing and choreographing at an early age with local theatre productions and advanced her studies to include Afro-Cuban, West African, Salsa and Tango in New York, Seattle, Brazil and Argentina. She enjoys sharing her passion for dance by performing and teaching Afro-Latin dance forms to adults and children. Aileen’s other passions are in the healing arts and world cultures. She holds a Master’s degree in cross-cultural community health and specializes in creating health promotion programs for underserved and minority populations. She has traveled to Nepal, South America, and Europe as a nurse to volunteer for various health organizations. Aileen recently spent 3 years in Salvador, Brazil studying Afro-Brazilian culture, music and dance. There she strengthened her technique in the Silvestre method and various other traditional dance forms, including Dances of the Orixas, Samba de Roda and Afro. Her teachers and mentors from Brazil include Rosangela Silvestre, Vera Passos, Marilza Olivera, Nem Brito da Silva and Nilginha Fonseca from Bale Folklorico. Aileen now performs and co-teaches Afro-Brazilian dance with her husband Pitta in Seattle. The combination of her experience, education and passion in the healing and performing arts brings a grounded yet dynamic energy to her teaching and performance style. Her unique charisma and enthusiasm radiates her belief in dance as an art form that allows physical, mental and spiritual expression, promoting cross-cultural understanding through a common corporal language.