The Baile Project: How One Latina Is Bringing Cultura, Wellness, and Community to Europe
Connection, community, and culture lie at the heart of Anna Marques’ dance initiative, The Baile Project. Bridging cultures through the power of dance and music, Marques has built one of the few spaces for Latin dance in the Netherlands. Her mission? Celebrate and spotlight Latin American heritage beyond stereotypes.
Baile as a community and mental health tool
Born and raised in Brazil, Anna Carolina Marques traveled to Europe for the first time in 2019 to perform at a theater festival. Seizing an opportunity, and without planning it, the Netherlands eventually became her home.
Three years ago, inspired by her experience as an immigrant, she launched The Baile Project. Now, her initiative has become a safe space for people to connect, share thoughts, and strengthen their community ties. Bringing together locals and immigrants, The Baile Project offers dance classes, courses, and cultural events with a Latin flair.
Marques, who has been involved in the dance scene for more than 10 years, regards dancing as a lifeline. After settling in the Netherlands and once the pandemic hit, she found herself trapped in a vulnerable situation for years. “In this journey, dance helped me. Through classes, I could connect with people, build friendships, and feel less lonely,” she tells FIERCE. “Latin dances gave me extra strength; I felt connected to my own roots, with other Latinos, and with people who genuinely appreciated and respected our culture.”
Resilience turned into art
While navigating her personal situation in the Netherlands, Marques taught herself English and Dutch. She quickly realized that “some of the most vulnerable situations” she encountered stemmed from a lack of information about her rights. Building a community was a game-changer.
Once she regularized her situation in the country, Marques built The Baile Project from scratch. A gift from her dad (a T-shirt with the words “follow the baile”) inspired the name. “Baile exists both in Spanish and in Portuguese. The word in Brazil is mainly connected to Baile Funk — parties in the favelas, where Brazilian Funk was created,” explains Marques. “That was the dance style I was teaching, too.”
With Brazilian culture at its root, Marques now champions dance as a tool for connection. She also promotes it as a getaway to learn more about Latin America, showcasing the region’s depth, richness, and diversity.
How Marques overcomes obstacles with a Latina mindset
Marques’ entrepreneurial journey hasn’t been without challenges. As an immigrant and female founder, there are instances where she has to “prove her worth.” “If a person already has the perception that women aren’t wise company leaders. Or that a Latina woman is too this or too that to run a business, I’m already on the losing team from the first chat,” she shares. “The energy it takes to change these perceptions to prove it’s a valuable business is often exhausting.”
Although this kind of challenge can take a toll on people, Marques prefers to focus on the learned lessons. She is also a firm believer that the bigger the challenge, the bigger the impact of her work.
Moreover, her upbringing has instilled in her the ability to find creative solutions and not dwell on things for too long. “I’ve grown up with my mother telling me religiously, ‘The only thing you cannot find a way to resolve is death.’ That’s it, everything else, there is a way,” says Marques. “In Brazil, that’s part of our culture. You’ll learn to find a way to make things work with what you have.”
The resilience and creativity that Brazilian culture fosters have been key competencies to run The Baile Project, Marques adds. Plus, as she says, there is freedom in understanding you will never please everybody. “I’ve made my peace with that, therefore I can focus more on what really matters: our mission and community.”
The Baile Project proves the power of resilience and perseverance
Despite the challenges and self-doubt, Marques’ efforts have paid off. Within three years, Baile Project has become a pioneer in offering Brazilian Funk classes in the Netherlands. But that’s just the surface. The real outcome has been creating a knit-tight community that thrives in respect, cultural exchange, and wellness.
“This is by far the best reward and worth of all the difficult times: seeing the classes full of people from all parts of the world, having the best time, dancing like their life depends on it. They respect each other, lift each other, praise each other, check in.”
As Marques describes it, The Baile Project is now a second family for the people attending dance classes. “They bring a birthday cake for someone in the class spontaneously, invite the class to their children’s birthday, invite their colleagues to dance classes, and so on. Students actively decide to help Baile reach wider places, because they want to see their friends happy too,“ she adds. ”It’s community work.”
The Baile Project’s goal is to become a global reference in cultural innovation
Through The Baile Project, Marques hopes to continue connecting people and spreading Latin culture. She also wants Latino dancers to get their flowers, turning The Baile Project into a platform to share and showcase their work. “You cannot love the culture and hate the people that created it,” she says, “So we try our best to spread the word and bring local artists who are the creators and referents on these dance styles. My goal is to do this more often, helping other Latino artists as we grow.”
But Marques’ vision extends far beyond. In the long run, she expects dance to be a tool for social change and global dialogue. “Our ultimate goal is to expand into a socio-cultural institution that also generates tangible positive impact on mental health, especially within vulnerable communities.”
