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- Key People:
- Gilberto Gil
- Related Topics:
- dance
- bossa nova
- batuque
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samba
dance
samba, ballroom dance of Brazilian origin, popularized in western Europe and the United States in the early 1940s. Characterized by simple forward and backward steps and tilting, rocking body movements, it is danced to music in 4/4 time with syncopated rhythm. Couples in ballroom position dance in place or around the floor, but partners may separate to execute variant steps. The dance derives mainly from the maxixe, a dance fashionable in about 1870–1914.
The samba: An expression of Afro-Brazilian cultureOverview of the samba de roda, a traditional dance in Bahia state, Brazil.
See all videos for this articleIn Brazil, away from the ballrooms, an older, very African type of samba is also danced. Sometimes called batuque, it is a kind of group dance, done either in circles with a soloist or in double lines.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.
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