Catarina Branco is an Oriental Dancer, teacher and choreographer born on the 12th of March 1992, in Setúbal
Catarina Branco
Since her early years, Catarina has always felt a big passion for dance, which led her to try several styles (Ballet, Hip Hop, Burlesque, Bollywood, Salsa, Tango) until discovering Oriental Dance, in 2009, in a class of her first teacher Sandra Silva in Setúbal.
After enrolling in Management at NOVA School Business & Economics, in Lisboa, Catarina decided to deepen her knowledge in the Oriental Dance field, starting regular classes in 2010 with the recognized teacher Sara Naadirah, in Dançalivre school.
In 2011, Catarina wins her first competition in the Amateur Category in an Oriental Dance festival in Portugal – East Fest Lisbon – and after that, she began her studies at an international level participating in workshops and competitions in reputed festivals in the Oriental Dance International Festivals, such as Egipto en Barcelona 2012 and 2013 (Spain), Miss Bellydance Ireland 2014 (Ireland), Pyramid Awards 2014 (Scotland) and Oriental Marathon Festival 2015 (France).
Catarina Branco in her trip to Egypt in July 2019
While finishing her Masters Degree in Management, in 2015 Catarina began her career as an Oriental Dance teacher in Setúbal.
In 2016, the Cityhall of Setúbal considered her Young Revelation 2016 in the field of dance, besides winning the 1st place in Bellyquality festival in Madrid (Spain) and in 2017, becomes two-time champion of the biggest Oriental Dance national festival, the Oriental Dance Weekend, in Lisbon (1st Place in Professional Category, 2016 and Master Category in 2017). In the same year, Catarina was invited to become a part of the renowned project Bellydance Evolution, becoming the only portuguese dancer to ever enter this Dance Company.
In 2018, the artists was invited to lecture at the Yallah Festival, in Spain, and won the 2nd Place in Roma Egyptian Passion in Italy and won the biggest Oriental Dance Festival in Denmark, Danish Open Bellydance.
In 2019, Catarina was once again invited to lecture in Raqs Ireland festival, in Limerick and makes national Oriental Dance history as the winner of two solo prizes in Oriental Marathon Festival in France (3rd Place in Folklore Category and Orchestra Live Solo) and won 3rd Place in the Master Professional category, at Ahlan Wa Sahlan in Cairo, Egypt.
In 2020, Catarina continued developing her studies in Oriental Dance and lecturing in Catarina Branco Oriental Studio, a dance school founded by her in Setúbal with over 50 students. In 2021, she is already confirmed as a a headliner and competition judge in Oriental Dance Weekend 2021 and guest artist in Oriental Marathon Festival, in France.
Teaching
In the last 5 years, Catarina has stand out not only as a dancer but also as a teacher. Her teaching method focuses on the creation component of her students (all of them choreograph their own pieces) and also in their work as solo performers: after creating their own pieces, the students are encouraged to present their work in a performative context, in CBOS shows and/or in national Oriental Dance festivals.
In recent years, the workd she develops with her students has resulted in several podium classifications at all the existing portuguese Oriental Dance festivals:
2021
Hala (students Catarina Fevereiro, Maria Leonor Viegas & Inês Nobre) | 1st Place in Portugal a Dançar, Setúbal (regional qualifier)
2019
Rita Pereira | 3rd Place in Advanced Category in Oriental Dance Weekend, Lisbon
Rita Pereira | 2nd Place in Advanced Category in Dancing World, Figueira da Foz
Catarina Fevereiro | 1st Place in Amateur Category in Dancing World, Figueira da Foz
2018
Rita Pereira | 3rd Place in Advanced Category in Oriental Dance Weekend, Lisbon
Catarina Fevereiro | 2nd Place in Amateur Category in Oriental Dance Weekend, Lisbon
Rita Pereira | 1st Place in Amateur Category in East Fest Lisbon, Lisbon
2017
Rita Pereira | 3rd Place in Amateur Category in East Fest Lisbon, Lisbon
Rita Pereira | 2nd Place in Amateur Category in Oriental Dance Weekend, Lisbon
Vocational Training
COURSES
2021/2022
Regular Egyptian Arabic Language Course - Level 1 (Portal Árabe);
2020
Be a Diva Course with Darina Konstantinova (Online Course)
Intensive Course with Aida Bogomolova - 3rd Edition (Online Course);
2019
Language and Arabic Culture (NOVA School of Social Sciences, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal);
Cologne Live by Guy Schalom (Colologne, Germany)
Fundamentals for Teachers with Marta Korzun (Online Course);
2018
Intensive Course with Aida Bogomolova - 3rd Edition (Toscany, Italy);
Sasaki Method - Instruction Course for Teachers with Rebeca Sazaki (Oriental Dance for Children, 2018);
2017
Intensive Course with Aida Bogomolova - 1st Edition (Toscany, Italy);
2015
Bellydance with Gitza (Barcelona, Spain).
WORKSHOPS
America | Amir Thaleb, Jillina Carlano, Mahaila el Helwa, Saida Helou, Yamil Annum
Europe | Alex DeLora, Darina Konstantinova, Dariya Mitskevich, Gitza, Katia Eshta, Marta Korzun
Middle-East | Dina, Hoda Ibrahim, Khaled Mahmoud, Randa Kamel
Portugal | Cátia Ahlam, Marcos Ghazalla, Paula Dahab, Sara Naadirah