Other Latin Dances
SAMBA
Unlike the other Latin dances we teach, samba's history lies in Brazil. The rhythm, mood, and style are quite different from the other Latin dances. Samba is a celebratory party dance, the dance of Carnivale, and it has a characteristic rolling bounce action in its steps. Samba is GREAT for your calves... and it's great for your soul, a dance of unbridled joy and revelry.
The version of samba that we teach is a cultural hybrid. It combines a style of body movement derived from Brazilian dance with patterns of foot movement based on the box structure of the European family of dances.
Samba music is a similar speed to cha-cha - in fact, we encourage beginners who haven't met samba to use samba music for a cha-cha rather than sitting down. The difference between samba and cha-cha music is subtle. If you have musical background, you can spot it fairly easily: in cha-cha, there's an emphasis on the quaver between beats; in samba, the emphasis is on the third semi-quaver between beats. For the rest of us, well, samba music just feels bouncy. Here are some great examples.
Ary Barroso aquarela do brasil
Peter Allen I go to Rio
Django Django Default
Crystal Fighters At home
Squirrel Nut Zippers Hell