ROSS BURNS - is a professional musician, performer, capoeira player, and teacher based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Studying the guitar since a young age and training the Afro-Brazilian dance/martial art form capoeira seriously since 2003 Ross has become a familiar face on Canadian stages as a guitarist, percussionist, singer, acrobat and front man.
He is a four-time ECMA and five-time MNS award winner with the hot-jazz outfit Gypsophilia; he has led Mestre Azeitona’s Capoeira Group Dendê - Halifax since 2007; his résumé ranges widely across different musical territories - jazz, rhythm & blues, Brazilian, Jamaican, modern art music and free improvisation - whether as a guitarist, singer or percussionist (pandeiro and berimbau). Ross is one fourth of Andrew Mackelvie’s MNS award-winning improvising ensemble New Hermitage, the guitarist in Halifax soul-jazz super band The 6-Star Revue, and is a faculty member and dedicated acolyte of Jerry Granelli’s Creative Music Workshop.
He has trained capoeira all over Canada, and has made regular study visits to New York City and Brazil. He has more than 13 years experience as a movement teacher and performer, having taught extensively in schools and programs all over Nova Scotia and as far afield as Ottawa, Ontario and Recife, Brazil.
Ross has collaborated with the likes of Dinuk Wijeratne, Jerry Granelli, Cyndi Cain, David Myles, Suzi Leblanc, Khari MacClelland, Aquakultre, Duane Andrews, Erin Costelo, Der Heisser, Rômmel Ribeiro, Balako do Samba, Nick Dourado, Gina Burgess, Breaking Circus, Symphony Nova Scotia and many others.