![]() The parade is actually a competition between Samba schools. The modern Samba parade in Rio is a major event and while once it was held downtown, it has been moved to the Sambódromo which was built especially for the event. Polka and Waltz were the primary dances in 1840 but, as previously stated, with the emancipation of the slaves Carnaval took on a whole new flavour (8). The Portuguese combined their own festival ‘Entrudo’ and the modern seed of Carnaval was planted. Carnaval is not a recent phenomenon but actually dates back to the 1640s, when it was a Greek-inspired feast that gave honour to the wine gods. These solo dances are what you will see during the Samba Carnaval parades in Brazil that occur before Lent. Typically the dance will start slow and progress to rapid tempo” (7). “Music groups release new songs with choreography tailored to each song.so Samba Axé is always changing, with specific moves dependent on the lyrics. Samba Axé is a modernization of the traditional solo dance that features more aerobic movements and much more bounce. The “samba bounce action gives the dance its unique look and feel… is a gentle, rhythmic action felt through the knees and ankles” (6). The knees are kept relaxed and as you get into the beat and rhythm, the Samba bounce will happen naturally because your knees are relaxed and the hips will move with the shifts in weight as you step. There is no travelling involved in the basic backwards and forwards step. It follows a 2/4 count with three steps in every measure, a basic step-ball-change” (5). Samba no pé is the traditional solo variation “with simple, recognizable steps spontaneously inspired by the music. The most well-known forms of solo Samba are Samba no pé and Samba Axé. However, it was the exhibitions in the Brazilian pavilion at the World’s Fair in 1939 that truly made North America fall in love with the Samba phenomenon (4). It was popularized in North America thanks to Carmen Miranda’s performances in That Night in Rio while a partner variation of the dance known as the carioca came to attention thanks to Fred Astaire and Dolores Del Rio’s performances in Flying Down to Rio in 1933. The Samba danced in Carnaval is a solo dance. Now Carnaval and Samba are practically synonymous. As with many other dances, Samba was deemed inappropriate by the upper classes due to its unrestrained and vibrant performances.needless to say, the opinion of the upper classes meant little and soon Samba was crossing classes as well as geographical borders. Here, dancers began to assemble dance troupes for the Rio Carnaval. Once the law was passed, the freed slaves began to leave the plantations for shantytowns (“favelas” in Portuguese) outside the cities. It was not until May 13, 1888, that the imperial family passed Lei Aurea, “the Golden Law”, to abolish slavery in Brazil - the last country in the Western Hemisphere to formally do so (3). The word “samba” likely comes from the Kimbundu (Angolan) word “semba” which has two different but connected meanings: it was an invitation to dance as well as a name for dance parties held by slaves and former slaves in the rural areas of Rio (2). The sensuous hip movement that characterizes the dance comes from the Congolese and Angolan circle dances (1). Samba originated in Brazil in the 19th century and owes its creation and style - rhythm, movement, music - to the African slaves working on Brazilian sugarcane plantations. (note: the following concerns the origins of solo Samba, not Ballroom Samba. Whether it’s the solo Carnaval version, club-style Samba de Gafieira, or Ballroom Samba there is no feeling like it. ![]() The beat of the music and the roll of the hips gets in your blood and when you move it’s an extension of the notes, full of life and laughter. ![]() And this is Samba.Īs Alma Guillermoprieto, a Mexican journalist who wrote extensively on Latin America, said: “There is no point to Samba if it doesn’t make you smile.” One might also add: if you’re not smiling while dancing Samba, you’re doing it wrong (just sayin’). People are singing, laughing, dancing, moving with the joy of the dance and the joy of being alive. The energy rises in waves, hotter than the sun beating down on the pavement. The floats are a riot of blues, pinks, reds, greens, and every other colour under the sun and the dancers in the parade wear feathers and sparkle. Beneath a bright sun and the fronds of palm trees, the streets are packed with floats and people moving to the beat of the drum, tamborim, and the ganzá. ![]()
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