Samba De Gafieira
Samba de Gafieira is a partner dance considerably different than the Ballroom Samba. It appeared in the 1940s and it gets its name from the gafieira - popular urban nightclubs of Rio de Janeiro at that time.
The dance derived from the Maxixe and followed the arrival of the Choro (another samba musical style). It left most of the Maxixe's Polka elements behind but maintained the entwined leg movements of the Argentine Tango, although adopting a more relaxed posture than the latter. Many see this form of Samba as a combination of Waltz and Tango. Several Brazilian dance studios use elements and techniques from these two dances to teach Samba de Gafieira steps and dance routines.
The steps are done on a short-short-long (quick-quick-slow) tempo and the basic step motion goes as follows:
- step - replace - forward (long)
- step - replace - backwards (long)
From its inception to nowadays the Samba de Gafieira has incorporated many acrobatic movements and has evolved to become today's most complex dancing style of Samba in Brazil.
Read more about this topic: Samba (Brazilian Dance)