Colorado Brazil Fest: Choro and Forró Dance Night

Kick off a lively night of music and dance at Colorado Brazil Fest with the Dexter Payne Quintet & guests, opening the evening with spirited instrumental choro and forró that set the perfect tone for a festive atmosphere. As the night unfolds, the focus shifts to the rich rhythms of Brazil’s northeast, with a second set featuring infectious styles like forró, xote, arrastapé, and baião. Special guest vocalist Dandha da Hora joins the band, along with percussionist Carl Dixon, to bring beloved Brazilian forró classics to life with powerful vocals and joyful energy—inviting everyone to the dance floor.

Born in the sertão, the arid interior of the region, Forró was formed by the many traditions, cultures, and musical styles of the Northeast. Forró is danced by couples locked in a sensual embrace and has three main rhythms: baiao, xote, and arrasta-pe.

Dexter Payne Quintet blends five distinct quintessential elements. These friends, far from a convenient or accidental jazz date, are more like a secret alchemical convocation nurtured over the last 10 years. The music is animated, driving, breath-taking and humorous. Virtuosity and joie de vie combine with collective subtlety and telepathic familiarity to make every uplifting performance a surprise. The Quintet plays Brazilian choro jazz, a tradition with roots in the 19th century, which inspired and influenced the birth of samba and bossa nova. Still very much alive in Brazil today, choro has a creative and evolving northern outpost in DPQ.

Dandha Da Hora: Born and raised in Salvador, Bahia, Dandha Da Hora has been a member of Ilê Aiyê, one of Brazil’s most important musical and cultural institutions, since she was 6 years old. A master dancer, as well as vocalist and percussionist, Dandha invokes the incredible spirit of Ilê Aiyê and Salvador, Bahia, each time she steps onstage. As a lead dancer with Ilê Aiyê, Dandha toured internationally and has shared the stage with many of Brazil’s most renowned artists such as Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Daniela Mercury. In addition to performing with Ilê Aiyê and SambaDá, Dandha has performed with Casa Samba (New Orleans, LA), SambaDendê and Bateria Alegria (Boulder, CO), Banda Remelexo and Bahia Soul (Bay Area, CA).