Instructor Cayo Santana

Cayo Santana has more than 18 years of experience in the Afro-Brazilian music industry. He loves sharing his passion and knowledge from his most inspiring Brazilian instructors in Brazil.

He tracks his artistic way quietly to promote his style of Samba -reggae while sharing his passion with his students and show the world his artistic work. His experience is rich with a variety of Afro-Brazilian rhythms from Salvador, Brazil and other styles of rhythm around the world.

In 2002, Cayo obtained a certification of percussion studies from the University of Bahia.

In 2003, he began his musical career and had played in many percussion groups in Salvador of Bahia. Along the way, he became well-known as a professional percussionist, and traveled to many cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, and others for performances.

In 2007, Cayo moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina and started working as an entertainer which included performances in drumming and singing for private events such as weddings and anniversaries. His guests loved his authentic Brazilian vibes. He also featured as a an extra in the local television ads.

In 2009, he emigrated from Brazil to Ottawa, Canada and continued his musical career by finding a group with a similar style of percussion. As luck would have it, he found a well-established drumming group based in Ottawa and started performing with them as a drummer. Cayo then began offering Afro-Brazilian drumming workshops for all members of the group to prepare them for upcoming events.

In 2012, he moved from Ottawa to Montreal, because he wanted to grow his musical knowledge and get more involved in the diverse music industry. During his time in Montreal, he provided drumming workshops for Journée de La Culture, various dance studios and community centres. He organized numerous drumming and dance workshops which were open to the public.

In 2019, Cayo was invited to run a drumming project in Munich, Germany at the Munich international school for more than 50 international students from ages 8 to 14 years.

Since 2022, Cayo continues to bring his expertise in drumming and dancing to Calgary, Alberta. He loves to teach and impart Brazilian culture through his programs in a fun and entertaining setting. His passion is infectious!

As a Canadian and Brazilian citizen, Cayo relates with both cultures and offers classes to his students with a goal of creating a great experience for anyone who loves to explore and learn new cultures. He has organised many private and public events for drumming and dancing in Canada and across the world thereby building a name and reputation for himself.