Latin dance styles

Definitions of Brazilian and Latin dance styles

Samba

The rhythm of the Brazilian Carnival is the heartbeat of Brazil. There are many different types of samba: Partido Alto, Pagode, Samba-Canção, Samba-enredo to mention a few. We focus on the Samba no Pé step and carnival style steps in our workshops. For shows, our dancers wear exquisite feathered costumes and give a spectacular display of the movement, exuberance and colour of the Brazilian Carnival. Together with our optional live samba band drummers we create a real atmosphere of Rio Carnival.

Samba de Gafieira

is an elegant samba danced in partners, from Rio de Janeiro, danced to samba music. It mixes fast sexy moves with the charm of bolero. Some steps have resemblance to the Argentinian tango.
Gafieira is an elegant partner dance, although in artistic performances it is not uncommon mixing in solo steps of Samba no Pé.

Capoeira

Capoeira was created by the African slaves in Northern Brazil as a combination of martial art and dance. It is danced to the sounds of vocals and berimbau - a 1 string bow and coconut shell instrument which is played  with a stick. The dancers perform acrobatic turns and kicks in a fight that grows in intensity. Read more about capoeira here

Forró

This is the popular social dance of Brazil - danced by couples with tight holds, intertwined legs and lots of looping. The music is fast with usually a mix of accordion, percussion & vocals. Forró is a kind of Northeastern Brazilian dance, as well as a word used to denote the different genres of music which accompanies the dance. Both are much in evidence during the annual Festa Junina (June Festival), a part of Brazilian traditional culture which celebrates some of the saints of the Catholic religion. The most celebrated day of the festival is known as the Saint John’s (São João) day. Our dancers show Forró dancing at its spectacular best.

Salsa

is a fusion of informal dance styles having roots to the Caribbean foremost CUBA & PUERTO RICO. The dance originated through the mixture of Mambo, Danzón, Guaguancó, Cuban Son. There is a strong African influence in the music as well as the dance. Our dancers give a great display of the passion and artistry of authentic Salsa.

‘On 1′ and ‘On 2′ what is the difference?
Stepping out On 1 and Stepping out On 2 is the first beat you or your partner moves you on.
WHY THE TWO? Stepping on either of the two beats actually delivers a different result on the dance floor.
‘On 2′ has more of a connection to MAMBO its often felt that MAMBO gives you more time to finish off your steps and allowing for stying through your upper body. ‘On 1′ is the most common and popular and its connections comes back to LA Salsa which takes likeness from New York Swing.

CUBAN Salsa

Is the original Salsa dance form.
It is often thought of easier and less intimidating for beginners especially for Men. The couple generally dance their moves in circle formation.
In Cuban salsa there is just as many complicated foot and arm combinations.

NEW YORK Salsa

Emphasises on movement, elegance and body isolations. It is strictly danced ‘ON 2′.

LA Salsa

Is most disciplined, it includes more fancy foot work known also as ‘Shines’ and has the woman extending her arm out to in a sensual motion. When dancing LA Salsa (Los Angeles) the couple travels back and forth in a straight line.

Argentine Tango

Argentine Tango is a social dance and a musical genre that originated in Argentina and moved to Uruguay and to the rest of the world later on. In the US, it is commonly confused with Ballroom Tango, though this is a later derivation. Passionate, sexy and spectacular this courtship dance is a great contrast to the uninhibited styles of Brazilian dance.

Lambada and Zouk Lambada

Lambada

is the Brazilian dance of love danced originally to the worldwide hits of the group Kaoma.

Zouk-Lambada

(also called Lambada-Zouk) is a group of closely related dance styles based on or evolved from the lambada dance style and is typically danced to zouk music or other music containing the zouk beat. There are two dominant styles of Zouk-Lambada called (Brazilian) zouk and Lambazouk. The Zouk-Lambada dancing styles are among the most popular non-ballroom dances for couples in Brazil.