Samba is the most famous type of music that originated in Brazil from African roots. The name Samba comes from the Angolan semba(mesemba) meaning a religious rhythm. Samba arose in the beginning of the 20th century in Rio de Janeiro, the capital of Brazil.
The first Samba recording is believed to be "Pelo Telefone" (1917) by Donga and Mauro Almeida. In the 1930's Samba developed to fit carnivals and parades. Samba became popular when dictator Getulio Vargas made samba official music and the radio played it all over Brazil.
In the sixties, Brazil was divided politically and samba lost much of its popularity to the favelas. In the eighties, a new Samba emerged. This new Samba included more slang and instruments such as the banjo and the tatan. Samba is still one of the most popular dance and music styles in Brazil.
Dress
Samba requires women to shake their hips alot. Women pretend to be cocky. For the preceding reason, women have very flashy shirts and skirts. Women usually wear a crown of bright feathers. On the back of their skirts they also have an attachment full of bright feathers. The feathers are like the peacock, to represent that women want to show off their beauty. The feathers also help exaggerate hip movements. Men usually wear all black or all white shirts and pants to help showcase the dresses of the women.
Steps
There are many different steps to Samba. The great thing(or maybe bad thing) about Samba is that there are no real basic steps. There are basic steps to differnt songs and therefore basic steps are unique to each song. Artists
One popular Samba artist isAlzione. Alzione's energy and enthusiasm made her one of the best artists to represent pagode, a type of samba pop. Agenor de Oliveira(Cartola) is another popular Samba artist. Cartola is known for founding the Mangueira samba school. Although Cartola passed away, his music is still popular in Brazil. Paulinho Da Viola is popular for staying with the traditional acoustic style. Many times listeners prefer traditional rather than modern samba, and therefore Da Viola is perfect for them. Tips
Try to always dance Samba with music. Sometimes just listening to the rhythm is what gets your body moving the right way.