Samba Dance History

Samba is arguably the most typical and familiar music of Brazil. It developed from the earlier choro, a song and dance form of the nineteenth century that is still performed today. Although there are many types of samba, its defining characteristic is the rhythm. This rhythm was originally derived from thecandomble, or prayer music, in Afro-Brazilian religious practices. The word “samba” itself means “to pray”. Congolese and Angolan practice, was usually accompanied by dance, the same type of dance we are familiar with today. As so often happened with unfamiliar traditions, European settlers in Brazil originally found the music and dance to be lascivious and sinful, but this perception led, in part, to the wider popularity of the dance, both