My first taste of live Samba music, and Samba dance!
Basically, Samba was originally a religious chant, introduced by African slaves during the time of slavery in Brazil. I believe it was even a kind of voodoo style religion - although I apologise if this is incorrect.
In the early 20th century (post-Brazilian independence and the abolition of slavery), Brazilians wanted to break away from the European influences on their history, particularly culturally. Instead of the ballroom dance style which had come to be so popular with the middle and high classes in Brazilian, civilians chose to strip this of national importance and revisit its roots. By then of course this included centuries of slavery, and samba became utilised in the annual carnival. What started out as a ritual of the 'favelas' (slums), gradually became more popular within the middle and high classes and - long story short - Samba became less of a religious chant and instead: part of popular song and dance. Again, it began as a dance for two and later in the latter half of the 19th century became a dance for two.
My point to this is that what we got to watch at Casa de Noca in the Lagoa neighbourhood really gave you a sense of the Samba roots. Big drums, euphoric cries, big smiles and what I can only describe as tribal dancing by the two women you can see in the picture. There was no technique as such but the enthusiasm shone through! Just as I would imagine a tribal performance. It was truly incredible and the vibe you got from the music was fantastic! You could really get into the moment.
Although I haven't quite got the idea of how you 'freestyle/club' dance to this kind of music, they were just brilliant to watch and the joy they had in performing was contagious :D
Basically, Samba was originally a religious chant, introduced by African slaves during the time of slavery in Brazil. I believe it was even a kind of voodoo style religion - although I apologise if this is incorrect.
In the early 20th century (post-Brazilian independence and the abolition of slavery), Brazilians wanted to break away from the European influences on their history, particularly culturally. Instead of the ballroom dance style which had come to be so popular with the middle and high classes in Brazilian, civilians chose to strip this of national importance and revisit its roots. By then of course this included centuries of slavery, and samba became utilised in the annual carnival. What started out as a ritual of the 'favelas' (slums), gradually became more popular within the middle and high classes and - long story short - Samba became less of a religious chant and instead: part of popular song and dance. Again, it began as a dance for two and later in the latter half of the 19th century became a dance for two.
My point to this is that what we got to watch at Casa de Noca in the Lagoa neighbourhood really gave you a sense of the Samba roots. Big drums, euphoric cries, big smiles and what I can only describe as tribal dancing by the two women you can see in the picture. There was no technique as such but the enthusiasm shone through! Just as I would imagine a tribal performance. It was truly incredible and the vibe you got from the music was fantastic! You could really get into the moment.
Although I haven't quite got the idea of how you 'freestyle/club' dance to this kind of music, they were just brilliant to watch and the joy they had in performing was contagious :D