Rico Suave & Manon Batrel

Rico Suave and Manon Batrel

Ricardo Graca, known in the African dance scene as “Rico Suave” was born and raised in Guinea-Bissau. During Rico’s childhood, he was surrounded by music, dance and family gatherings as part of his African culture which was where, he was introduced to Gumbe, Passada and later on Kizomba, Semba, Kuduro, Soukous and Coupé Decalé.

In his twenties, he moved to Portugal, where he became involved in the Afro dance scene leading him to both compete and begin to organise events.

After his move to London (England), Rico began his teaching journey, where he has been teaching and organising events regularly upon till now. As his career grew, he also began to teach, dance, perform and organise events abroad. He is the co-organiser of “Sardinia Afro Beach Festival” in Italy.

Rico Suave is known not only for his unmistakable smooth and elegant dance style but also his easy-going nature, positive energy and never-ending happy vibe. He is now, a much loved and respected national and international dance teacher who is held in high regard in the genres of Kizomba, Semba and Afro.

Those attending his classes can expect first-hand knowledge from his personal experience, creativity and a teaching philosophy developed from his roots as well as many years of experience mixed together with fun and his contagious passion for dancing and teaching.

Manon Batrel is a French dancer, dance teacher professionalised in Kizomba.

She has been dancing since a very young age. She started with ballet at the age of 6, until the age of 12, where she started African dances such as Coupe decale (Ivory Coast) & Ndombolo (Congo).

In 2012, she started learning Kizomba with her teacher, Mervil Kiavue (Brest, France) who she trained intensively for several years. Manon also was inspired by her other teacher, Morenasso Crack.

When she began participating in congresses where she was invited to assist teachers, she also started learning to teach herself before she moved to London (England, UK) in 2017 and joined the newly opened dance school “Rythm&Vybes”. As her experience as a teacher as well as dancer grew, she started not only teaching in London but all around the UK and internationally, sharing her skills, passion & knowledges for Kizomba & Semba to her students.

In 2020 she opened her own dance school in South London called “London Kizomba School”, where she delivers quality weekly, private lessons and workshops involving other talented teachers in the dance community.

In the same year, Manon started a partnership with Rico Suave, a well-known worldwide Kizomba & Semba artist. Together, they now teach, dance and perform around the world. They also run their own monthly night “Diversao Nights”, as the main hosts in London on 2nd Friday of every month.