Dancer · Somatic Movement Educator · Therapist

For more than 25 years, Erika has dedicated herself to a journey of self-knowledge through spirituality, movement and the arts of the body. Her path brings together Indian classical dance, somatic education, contemplative practices, martial arts and therapeutic traditions - all grounded in a deep exploration of the relationship between body, consciousness and the sacred.

At the heart of this journey is Odissi, one of India’s great classical dance traditions. Erika has been a professional Odissi dancer for more than 15 years, performing and teaching in São Paulo and presenting her work at cultural institutions including FUNARTE, Museu da Casa Brasileira, SESC and cultural centres across São Paulo.

For Erika, dance extends beyond performance. It is a language through which the body can become a place of awareness, expression and transformation.

A Life Through Movement

Erika’s relationship with the body has developed through many complementary disciplines.

Alongside Odissi, she has more than 15 years of experience in martial arts, including Aikido, Kung Fu, Tai Chi Chuan and Kalarippayatu, with periods of practice and immersion in both India and Japan. She holds a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Aikido from the Takemusu Aikido Kai School of Japan.

Her exploration of movement also led her to train as a Movement Reeducator Teacher at Instituto Ivaldo Bertazzo, and as a Therapist and Educator in Somatic Movement, Sensitive Psychology and Anatomy through Body Mind Movement.

These different traditions have shaped an approach in which movement is not simply something the body performs, but a means of listening, understanding and becoming more deeply present.

Healing, Awareness & Self-Knowledge

Erika’s work is informed by extensive study across therapeutic, contemplative and systemic practices. She completed postgraduate studies in Original Hellinger® Family Constellation through Hellinger® Schule and trained as a Mindfulness Instructor at Escola Paulista de Medicina - UNIFESP.

She is also trained in ThetaHealing®, behavioural instruction, coaching, Ericksonian language, integrative systemic constellations and positive psychology.

Her studies in Ayurveda have taken her directly to India. She trained through Yoga Brahma Vidya in association with the International Academy of Ayurveda in Pune, as well as the School of Ayurveda & Panchakarma in Kerala, where her studies included Panchakarma, Ayurvedic massage and bodywork, pregnancy care, baby massage and Ayurvedic cosmetology.

A Spiritual Journey

Travel and spiritual immersion have been an integral part of Erika’s path. She has undertaken numerous journeys dedicated specifically to spiritual practice and self-inquiry, including 18 journeys to India connected with the ashram of a spiritual lineage, as well as retreats and immersions in Japan, England, the United States, Mexico, Paraguay, Argentina and Israel.

For more than 20 years, she has also participated in projects and social initiatives connected with the Sathya Sai International Organization in Brazil, alongside specialising in Education in Human Values through Instituto Sathya Sai de Educação do Brasil.

Her professional life has followed an equally diverse path. Erika graduated in Law from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP) and has worked in Economic and Civil Law, while continuing to deepen her work with movement, consciousness and human development.

Her Practice Today

Today, Erika brings these many strands together through dance, movement, therapeutic practice and education. Rather than treating them as separate disciplines, her work explores the space where they meet: where physical movement becomes awareness, where artistic practice becomes self-inquiry, and where the body becomes a pathway towards connection.

Her philosophy can perhaps be expressed most simply in her own words:

“To flow is to accept light and shadow with love.”

After more than 25 years of exploration, her journey continues to bring her closer to herself, to others, and to what she describes as the Divine Consciousness present in everything and everyone.