Samba is a sexy and earthy dance hailing from Brazil. An early form may have been popular around 1914 but the 1930s are the time when something resembling the modern dance was first seen in Europe. There are many variations of the Samba rhythm of which one was adopted for our current international Samba. It is actually quite difficult to dance our Samba to much of the native Brazillian Samba music because the rhythmic emphasis is often not quite the same. And as is usual the modern international dance and contemporary native Brazilian styles of dancing do not resemble one another all that much.

Samba exhibits a number of attributes that can make it an unsuitable dance for beginners. The music has several main rythmic components and we attempt to express more than one of them at a time. The dance progresses around the room (in a manner intended to depict a carnival procession) and the progressive figures are often not danced in close hold which makes it hard for the gentleman to indicate which figure he intends to dance next. The fundamental actions of the dance involve considerable knee and hip rhythm without which the dance loses its character.

For these reasons we prefer to teach Samba in a continuation class. When you have sufficient dancing experience to be able to give some attention to matters of technique and style then you are ready to start learning this one.