About Me

My name is Liani Devito, and I am from Santos, a seaside city in São Paulo State, Brazil. My journey in dance began during my teenage years through Capoeira, training at the school of Mestre Fábio Parada, alongside a deep connection to Afro-Brazilian culture and spirituality.

 It is difficult to pinpoint the beginning of my relationship with samba — in Brazil, samba is not something you “discover”; it is something you grow up with. Samba has been part of my life from an early age.

At the age of 29, I left Brazil in search of new opportunities and moved to the United States, where I worked as a Latin Ballroom dance teacher at Arthur Murray Dance Studios in Houston, Texas. There, I received rigorous training in American-style Latin ballroom, which significantly shaped my technical foundation and teaching approach.

I have lived in London since 2010, where I dedicated four intensive years to professional training at Pineapple Dance Studios, studying Jazz, Samba, Latin, and Commercial dance. Pineapple became my second home, and since May 2021, I have been proud to work there as a resident Brazilian Samba Dance teacher.

In 2016, I joined Paraíso School of Samba (PSS) as a passista. In 2017, following a highly competitive selection process, I was elected Rainha de Bateria (Queen of the Drums) and became part of the school’s samba teaching panel. From 2018 to 2023, I led my own ala (a costume group within the school) in partnership with the school’s carnavalesco. I paraded with PSS at six Notting Hill Carnivals between 2016 and 2023.

Since 2020, my dance team, Sambistas da Rainha, and I have performed at major cultural events such as Acton Carnival, Move It, Watford Carnival and Kennington Festival in London. In 2023, I led my group to parade at Carnaval Tropical de Paris on the Champs-Élysées.

In 2024, I founded a new School of Samba in London, GRES Império da Rainha, alongside other samba professionals. I proudly serve as President of the school, becoming the first female president of a School of Samba in the UK.

Alongside this, I have performed with numerous Brazilian bands, entertainment companies, and cultural groups across the UK and internationally. My work has taken me to Russia, Germany, Australia, Poland, the USA, France, and Denmark, and I have appeared in television shows and music videos, including a collaboration with Basement Jaxx.

In Rio de Janeiro, I have been training and parading as a passista since 2018, performing with several respected Schools of Samba:

• Acadêmicos do Salgueiro (2022–present)
• Estácio de Sá (2022–2023; 2024–2025)
• Madrinha dos Passistas – Império da Tijuca (2022)
• Unidos de Vila Isabel (2020–2021)
• Império Serrano (2019)
• Império da Tijuca (2018–2021)

Parading with multiple samba schools and passista directors has given me deep insight into the samba world — its culture, discipline, and performance standards. Being a passista at Acadêmicos do Salgueiro is a significant achievement, led by Carlinhos Salgueiro, one of the most respected figures in Rio de Janeiro’s Carnaval.

Outside the samba world, I am a Senior Lecturer in Biosciences, bringing structure, pedagogy, and care into everything I teach.

For me, samba is more than dance. It is a connection to my roots, a form of expression, a source of physical and mental wellbeing, and a powerful way to build community. Through samba, I aim to share culture, confidence, and empowerment with others.

Join my samba journey. 

Vamos sambar!