Roda de Samba

The National and International Meeting of Women in Roda de Samba is an annual event that had its first edition on November 24, 2018.

The project, created by Brazilian singer Dorina, aims to unite female samba circles, as well as samba players and other instrumentalists around the world, creating a network between artists and increasing cultural exchanges, in addition to contributing to strengthening the dissemination of female power in music, especially in samba, among the public.

The event is currently held in 43 cities, 9 countries and on 3 continents. The 7th National and International Women's Meeting in Roda de Samba – 2024 will take place on November 30, 2024, at 5:00 pm Brasilia time, and will honor Aurea Martins and Clementina de Jesus.

Line up of Roda de Samba in Rotterdam

Ivy Lemos (local coordinator) - Vocals and percussion

Heidi Monteiro - Piano

Martina Bergonzoni - Guitar and vocals

Henrike Melcher - Percussion

Carmen Navarro - Percussion

Ivy lemos

Ivy Lemos, the local coordinator of Mulheres na Roda de Samba, is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, teacher and researcher living in the Netherlands since 2008. Ivy, who graduated in Latin Music from the Rotterdam Conservatory - Codarts, was born in Castanhal-Pará, as an indigenous, African and Portuguese descendant, grew up in Belém, lived in São Paulo and currently lives in Rotterdam where, besides her work as a musician, she also works as a teacher, researcher and cultural producer. Ivy has performed as a singer in various venues in Brazil, England, Germany and the Netherlands such as Casa do Choro in Rio de Janeiro, De Doelen, Bimhuis, Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, Breda Jazz, Guanabara and Barrio Shoreditch in London. As a composer, she won the Samba enredo competition in London in 2017 and in 2016 she won the Notting Hill Carnival with the London School of Samba with her samba enredo “Sambafari”.

Heidi Monteiro

Heidi Monteiro is a Brazilian pianist currently based in Rotterdam. She holds a PhD in Music Performance with a focus on piano. Heidi works as a collaborative pianist, working with ensembles, instrumentalists and vocalists in various settings, including piano lessons, exams and concerts. Until 2023, she was a pianist at the State University of Maringá in Brazil. She has won several prestigious competitions, such as the Latin American Rosa Mística Competition and the Souza Lima National Piano Competition. Heidi has performed in concerts and music festivals in Brazil, the United States, Italy, Paraguay and Portugal.

Martina Bergonzoni

Martina Bergonzoni is an Italian jazz singer and guitarist who has been living in the Netherlands since . She has performed at events such as the Grachten Festival and the ROEF Festival and has collaborated regularly with the Amsterdam Music Project. As first prize winner of the "Music 4 the Next Generation" competition, Martina has performed at renowned venues in Italy and the Netherlands, including Teatro Zandonai (IT), Teatro Ristori (IT), Laaktheater (NL) and Tivoli Vredenburg (NL).

Martina graduated from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague in jazz singing, with a minor in jazz guitar. She has developed a strong passion for Brazilian music, which has led her to delve deeply into the rich traditions of this culture.

Henrike Melchers

Henrike Melchers is a German percussionist who has been living in the Netherlands since 2022. Through several trips to Latin America, Henrike fell in love with Latin American culture and especially the music. This prompted her to take another bachelor's degree in Latin percussion at Codarts (Rotterdam) after studying International and Cultural Business Administration at the University of Passau - Germany. In 2023, she founded the feminist Latin band "Las Hienas", with which she has already played on major stages such as the Carnival of Cultures in Berlin and the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam.

Carmen Martinez

Carmen Martinez Navarro is a percussionist specialized in latin and brazilian percussion. She is currently studying her bachelor's degree in latin percussion at Codarts. She was born in Murcia - Spain and started making music at the age of 11.

She has a broad experience in different genres such as Brazilian, jazz and classical music, plays with Jong Metropole 2024 and performs in many stages throughout the Netherlands.