EMBA 25 in Brazil: Samba

Samba and Brazil are synonymous; especially if you go to Rio. Learning about a country and its culture are a key part of our capstone learning experience and we made sure that we leverage the teachings of Samba as part of our learning.

The Samba is an old Brazilian dance with lots of variations and it is African in origin. The people of Rio refer to themselves as Carioca and the Carioca Samba is derived from the rural rocking Samba of the Carioca.

The Samba has tribal, fast paced rhythms that celebrate earth and reflect the Carioca culture. The respect for earth, life and importance of relationships is ever present in the samba dance and as we learned on our visits; in the culture in general.

A small team of EMBA 25s along with Professor Kristen McCormick took in an awesome night of camaraderie, Brazilian food, culture and dance at Carioca de Gema. Some in the crew had trepidation of going "dancing". We largely equate dancing with our US experience of it. But in Rio, the music, the welcoming crowd and the overall spirit of acceptance swept everyone to the dance floor! We ALL, without inhibition took to the dance floor and Samba'd the night away. As we all shared the next day how open and welcoming the dance club was and how easy it was to participate and enjoy!

Hopefully, we will weave the cultural teachings of samba into our entrepreneurial experience and enjoy all of the relationships along the way and never forget how the music brought us together with each other and a culture that is vibrant, welcoming, connected and flourishing!

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Nancy Folan
EMBA 25

Nancy Folan is an experienced Human Resource Executive with expertise in designing and leading HR teams and process. Nancy is currently the Senior Vice President, Human Resources at Pioneer Investments, US. Nancy holds a BA in International Management from Simmons College and an MS in Training and Organizational Development from Lesley University.