Samba Dance Steps

For over a hundred years, Samba is danced in Brazil every year at the festival of Carnival and at other times. The dance is performed on Samba music which also originated in Africa and came to Brazil with the slaves that worked on coffee and soya plantations under the Portuguese rulers. Today, Samba, that was previously known as Maxixe is primarily a Brazilian dance and people of all races in Brazil dance to Samba beats.

The Schools of Samba (Escolas de Samba - in Portuguese) in Rio de Janeiro prepare their dancers for the whole year and finally present a magnificent show at the Carnival parade with their flaunting Samba dance steps.

Samba dance is a set of dances than a single form of dance. Personally, I feel that the Samba music is what makes the dance steps. There are a various forms of dancing this rhythmic dance but Samba no Pé is the most common one. My favorite is danced solo, impromptu on any Samba music. In each measure of the beat, there are 3 steps even though the music is in 2/4 time which means in every 2 beats, there are 3 steps involved.

Basic Steps

This solo Samba is a lot fun and is the best option for group performances, to dance at parties and even at home, just for exercise. Remember to keep your body straight and bend your knees one at a time.

• Stand with a little distance between your feet.
• When the music begins, at the first beat, slide your right foot back a bit, putting your body's full weight on it.
• Now slide your left foot back, subtly shifting your body's weight on the ball of the same foot. Your move here should be so fine and swift that the left heel should hardly reach back to the floor.
• Immediately raise your right leg (it actually happens on its own when you change the ball of the foot), let it reach the floor along with the whole of your body weight.

When you shift the weight of your body and bend the knees, your hips should move along with it. This dance may be termed as the dance of the legs as the arms may move in any way according to the beats. I know it's hard to assimilate the samba dance steps, but once you get the beats in your mind, the moves will be swifter, just like a professional.

Another type of Samba is the Samba de Gafieira. This is a couple dance and a lot of people around the world learn this as a part of ballroom dancing. It involves different Brazilian Samba dance steps. It is also known in one word as Gafieira which means the hall where the dance is performed. It is popular in nightclubs and is danced professionally than other forms of Samba. It involves some Tango dance movements and has some complex acrobatic steps. The 2 types of basic Samba dance steps in Gafieira are the reversed box step or quadrado and right cross body lead or saída ao lado.

The 3 steps in this dance are danced in the quick-quick-slow or a short-short-long fashion within the 4 beats.

• The man has to step on the first beat with the left foot simultaneously shifting his weight on the foot.
• On the next beat, he has to bring his right foot to meet the left.
• The body weight should only be on the ball of the foot.
• The weight then needs to be shifted on the left foot and then stepping back on the right foot with the body weight.
• Next, the left foot needs to meet the right foot, again with the weight on the ball of the foot
• On the last beat or count, the body weight should be shifted onto the right foot.

The lady has to step back when the man steps forward and cross her foot behind when he crosses his foot ahead. Samba dance steps in Gafieria are like entering and exiting with your feet alternately with your partner.

Different Types of Samba

There some other kinds of Samba. There is Samba Pagode, which is less complicated but has some more intimate dance moves. Samba Axé is a choreographed dance in which several Samba dance steps are involved and the movements are based on the lyrics of the song. It derived from the original Lambada in 1992 in Brazil. Another one is Samba Reggae which a blend of Samba drums and reggae beats. Samba Rock is a modern and blithe form of Samba. It is also a combination of different styles of Samba dance and even dances like Salsa and Lambada. The moves in this dance look similar to the ones in Salsa dancing. There is also a Afro-Brazilian dance which is associated with Capoeira - an Afro-Brazilian form of martial arts which came to Brazil like Samba. It involves special musical instruments which are very native to North Eastern Brazil where there are many Afro-Brazilians. This dance is called Samba de Roda.

If you want to learn Samba, there are many instructors who teach the 2 basic forms of Samba as mentioned above. There are also many online videos that show Samba dance steps for beginners. Whatever you may decide to do, remember that the underlying reason of dancing Samba is to really enjoy the music and rhythm, solo or with a partner. To be able to do the steps with efficiency, it is extremely important to feel a connection with Samba music!