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Samba
Samba is a wonderful and vigorous dance. The rhythm for Samba is counted a one a two a one a two. Or because Samba uses 4/4 timing it can be counted a one a two a three a four a five a six a seven a eight. Samba is very difficult to do properly but that does not mean it is not enjoyable to learn. The Samba motion is unique and is generally only seen in Samba. Samba has been referred to as Brazilian Waltz and can actually use many of your waltz patterns.
The Samba that we see today was developed from an earlier Brazilian music style known as Choro. Both Samba the dance and the music can take many forms, from the vivacious call response of samba de enredo, the music of Carnival to samba-cancon or song samba, a more relaxed guitar and rhythm variant. Bossa Nova, which is translated New Wave, hit America big time in the sixties with the song "The Girl From Ipnema". This song was written by the legendary composer Antonio Carlos Jabim became a classic in jazz and elevator music.
Around the 16th century, the Portuguese discovered on the east coast of South America, a place known as the January River (Rio De Janeiro). Colonists soon settled and as the colony prospered slaves were brought in for plantations in the North East. This place became modern day Brazil.
To adherents of the Afro-Brazilian religion, Candomble, Samba means to pray, to invoke your personal orixa (god/saint). The African rhythms that are enveloped in Latino music came from Yoruba, Congo and other West African natives, who were transported to the New World as slaves. In their homeland these rhythms were used to call forth the various gods. The Candombe preserves the rhythms to this day. It is the rhythm of this music that influenced Brazilian music making samba a completely unique genre of music.
A composite dance had been developed in the 1830's which combined the plait figures from these African dances and the body rolls and sways of the native Lundu. Later, carnival steps were included. This dance was continually modified and began its tour through performance by dancers holding each other in a European frame, or a closed hold. Near 1885, the samba was adopted by high society in Rio, and was made popular as the Zemba Queca. The dance was changed again and called the Mesemba.
As the 20th century began, the Mesemba was fused with another Brazilian dance, the Maxixe and was made popular in the U.S. and Europe. It has been described as having the steps of a polka being done to the music of Cuban Habanera (from havana). The samba we see today still contains a pattern known as the Maxixe and includes a chasse and a point.
In the early 1930's, a form of samba known as Carioca was revived in the U.K. and spread to the U.S. Movies helped in the dances gaining popularity. With names like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers performing it in their first film together. Around 1941, its popularity was increased by the performances by Carmen Miranda in her many films. The ridiculous copyright fees paid to the holders of U.S. copyrights was probably a big part of the Latin music rising to popularity. To the chagrin of the U.S. music industry, the audience loved it.
Ballroom Samba, while maintaining elements of what Brazilians consider the true Samba was formulated in 1956 by Piere Lavelle. Since this time various forms of Samba have been designed to fit the mood of our modern music.