C. Renee Stoltzfus, a 2008 graduate of Bellefontaine High School, is helping to bring a multi-faceted cultural experience to the Cincinnati area this weekend through the Brazil Day 2022 Street Party.
The event takes place from 5 to 11 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 4, outside of the Warsaw Federal Incline Theater, 801 Matson Place, Cincinnati, featuring Brazilian food, instrumental groups and Samba performances.
Brazil Day celebrates the growing Brazilian community, as well as the bicentennial of Brazil’s independence.
Stoltzfus is the executive director and founder of Joy Brasileira that is staging the festival. She is Brazilian born, but was adopted and raised in the U.S., a daughter of local residents Willie and Winfred Stoltzfus.
“Growing up with my Brazilian brothers and sisters here in Ohio we found ourselves naturally drawn to many of the things that make Brazil such a well recognized country. My sisters and brothers were stars on their soccer teams, I learned to fight in MMA, we listened to Brazilian music and ate delicious Brazilian food, but quite frankly I still didn’t feel Brazilian,” she explained in her bio at www.joybrasil.org.
“However, I clearly remember the chills on my skin that I felt when I first heard the batucada of the samba drums. The fanfare. The energy. It connected to my soul in such a deep and resonant way and I just knew that I’d at last found an authentic connection to my home country.”
Stoltzfus said she started the non-profit organization Joy Brasileira as a way to explore and celebrate the traditional dances of Brazil and to share that joy with others.
“I want to share this vibrant, energetic, joyful celebration of Brazilian culture through this company’s performance and education efforts.”
The BHS graduate first learned to samba around 9 years of age from her older sister, Bia.
She holds a BFA in musical theater from Ohio Northern University. Stoltzfus has made a career of acting, modeling and dancing in Cincinnati. She formalized her samba training and studied through the online samba courses offered by renowned samba school “Academicos do Salgueiro” and the Brazilian fitness dance styles taught through Zumba World Rhythms.