10 Tips for you to learn to samba before Carnival

A Brazilian musical genre par excellence, samba, as you can imagine, emerged from a type of dance, with African roots.

From the first compositions at the beginning of the 20th century in Rio de Janeiro, to the great carnival parades of today and the countless aspects to which it gave rise, such as samba de gafieira, samba rock and the samba schools themselves, this rhythm is part of the Brazilian soul.

We already brought, here at awesome.club, a series of curiosities about samba and carnival, but on the other hand, if you don’t have a great resourcefulness on your feet (or you have the gait of a German tourist), we’ll give you some tips on how to avoid getting ugly during the upcoming carnival. Check it out!

Know, from now, that the form of samba is different between men and women. Men hold on to their heels to dance; women stand on tiptoe.

In the samba danced in pairs, the so-called “samba de gafieira”, the dancer has an attitude towards his lady: trickery, protection, exposure to elegance and rhythm. At the moment of the dance, the man leads the lady, and never the other way around. The dance has the objective of giving space for the woman to show off but at the same time preventing someone else from taking her out to dance.

Its origin is intertwined with the very history of samba and carnival. Sambar on the foot has always meant freedom and relaxation. It’s dancing for yourself and with those around you. The dance includes straight stance, bending one knee at a time, and short movement of the feet.

Generally, samba songs have a certain tempo, which is the number of beats per minute (bpm) taking into account the measurement of the human heartbeat. Drums usually play between 140 to 152 bpm.

Now, let’s get started. Put on a samba to start the movements. There are some sambas that are more difficult to dance than others (especially considering the rhythm). So, if you’re just starting out, put on the song “Cheia De Manias” by Raça Negra, suitable for beginners.

Globeleza Erika Moura, in her tutorial on how to samba, explains that it is necessary to feel the music; thus, the body automatically feels and starts to move.

In technical terms, the ideal is:

In the first measure, take a short step backwards with the right foot Engage the middle of the right foot in the heel of the left foot Immediately afterwards, mark another measure, tapping the ground with the left foot, in a small step forward In the third measure , bring the right foot forward.

Of course, assimilating these moves at first is not so simple. That’s why we bring a simple method for first-time sambistas; it incorporates some new components and inserts a dash of humor (step on the cockroach) to simplify the process. Come on?!

Imagine cockroaches all over the floor Step on the first cockroach on your right with your right foot; Step on the second one, which is behind you Return your foot to the starting position.

Repeat the movements with the left foot As you bring the right foot forward, the left foot is already behind to mark another beat Accelerate the rhythm to the music.

The arms should move naturally, as if you were walking, but swaying slightly to the side of the front leg. It’s also important to move your hips well as your feet move.

In the case of men, the feet can make the same movement as that of women, with only two important differences:

Support must be done on the heel of the foot The posture must be one of conduction, protection and with a touch of the famous “malandragem do bem” that characterizes the samba culture.

Liked? What did you think of the methods, do you know any different ones? Tell it here in the comments 😊