Samba, an old Brazilian style of dance with manyvariations, is African in origin. It has beenperformed as a street dance at carnival, the pre-Lenten celebration, for almost 100 years. Manyversions of the Samba (from Baion to Marcha) aredanced at the local carnival in Rio. The ballroomSamba or Carioca Samba is derived from the rural"Rocking Samba" and has been known for manyyears.

(The Carioca is a small river that runsthrough Rio de Janiero - hence the nameCarioca refers to the people of Rio.)Today Samba is still very popular in Rio.During carnival time there are "schools ofSamba" involving thousands of elaborately-costumed dancers presenting a nationaltheme based on music typical of Brazil andRio in particular.

Developed in Brazil during the 19th century,the Samba is considered the dance ofcelebration and joy at Carnival celebrations inRio. Lively and rhythmical, there are manytypes of Samba dances, just like there aremany types of Samba music. Ballroom partnerSamba, one of the popular Latin dances inballroom competitions, is made up of manydifferent South American dances mixed intoone. In Brazil, a Samba dancer is known as aSambista.

Samba is danced to music with a tempo ofabout 100 beats per minute. The fast andenergetic rhythm of Samba musicencourages spontaneous dancing, such asin the streets during a Carnival celebration.

The time signature of Samba is 2/4 (2 beatsto a bar of music), but in Round Dancing itis typically written as 4/4 (4 beats to a bar ofmusic) in cue sheets. Tempo ranges from48-56 bars per minute, competitiveballroom samba is generally 50 bars perminute; Samba in its current form hasfigures with very different rhythms due tothe diverse origins of the dance.

Distinctive Samba Steps

The basic footwork of the Samba includes fast,three-step weight changes with a slight kneelift, led with alternating feet. The basicrhythm is "quick, quick, slow, and." DistinctiveSamba steps include the

Voltas

Bota Fogos

Kick Change

Samba Side Steps

Samba Strut

The Samba also has a distinctive,dramatic climax...it concludes withdancers throwing back their heads andextending their arms out to the sides.