The spontaneous decision to make a detour to Rio for 5 days gave us the unmissable opportunity to try out Brazilian traditional dance- Samba and Forró. Even with three days of incessant rain and being a bank holiday, we were resolute in finding a dance school that would offer these styles.
After finding the addresses of a couple of different academias de danza which were said to be open, and the help of a lovely Brazilian guy we had met in the hostel, we managed to locate them. Unfortunately, the first one was closed, but undeterred we walked to the second where music dictated that some classes were clearly taking place.
At first the receptionist seemed very reluctant to let us participate in any of the classes they had to offer that evening, probably eyeing up our attire (fit to walk the inca trail) and presumed we had minimal dance experience. She did however, suggest that we go and watch one of the Forró classes taking place upstairs.
The smiley Forró teacher welcomed us into the class, asked us what we were looking to do and, within five minutes, he had summoned two proficient partners for us to dance with! These caballeros showed us the pasos basicos which turned out to be very similar to Salsa with three steps rocking backwards then forwards. However, unlike Salsa the hold in Forró is very close with one side of the body touching, providing less scope for the lady to incorporate her own ‘styling’ and giving a greater sense of synchronisation when dancing.
The music sounded folkloric with accordions, violins and percussion, and felt quite playful as it contained unexpected pauses allowing the man to begin a new sequence of steps. After initially tripping over feet, my own as well as my partner’s, I realised that concentrating on feeling the subtle transfer of weight of my partner was vital for the successful execution of the steps.
When the class finished we were invited to join a Lindy Hop class in another studio, led by an eccentric guy dressed like a park ranger and his very curvaceous partner. Her Portuguese was particularly hard to follow; it genuinely sounded like she was repeatedly saying ‘Ebola’ which we later found out was ‘rebolar’ (swivel the hips).
After learning the basic steps, consisting of three quick steps followed by two slow, we partnered up to give it a go. Although it was imperative to keep the same rhythm, it was possible to add personalisation to the steps by substituting the quick steps with a hip swivel. To practice the steps the teacher instructed us to form a ‘ronda’ where we rotated partners affording all members of the class the opportunity to dance with each other.
The class ended with the introduction of some basic samba steps, consisting of small steps crossing behind whilst vigorously moving the hips side to side. It was a shame that we only touched on the basics of Samba as I would have liked to have got a bit more of a flavour of steps danced during carnival season.
Believing our evening of Brazilian dance to be over, we were about to say our goodbyes when the teacher invited us to stay for the next advanced Forró class. Keen to try and improve on my foot squashing and inconsistent synchronisation of the earlier class, I quickly accepted the offer.
The teacher built on the sequences learnt in the previous class by piecing them together in a choreography. Watching the teacher and his skilled partner demonstrate the steps was mesmerising. He had such a clear sense of musicality that it almost felt that the music was following him rather than vice versa. On occasion he would press the side of his head against his partner’s and seemingly be leading with that rather than his arms. I was reminded of another dance style, bachata, which similarly has a very intimate dance hold but is more provocative and sensual. Forró however, appears to be more light and playful with sudden unpredictable and ‘unnatural’ steps which test the partners ability to follow and are almost humorous to the audience.
Again the class wrapped up with a ronda, enabling the choreographed steps to be honed as well as a chance for previously learned sequences to be incorporated. Although I no longer felt like a complete novice by the last song, I still felt unable to follow my partner when the steps were more unconventional. Clearly knowing the music and the various pauses and flourishes would help me foresee potential changes in the steps. However, I realised that instead of trying to predict what may happen next, I should rather ‘listen’ to my partner through his subtle body movements. Albeit a little late to have this realisation, it would apply to any improvised partnered dancing which I hope to do more of over the next 5 months.
Hiking boots and raincoats back on (and hopefully Ebola free) we sashayed into the rainy Rio streets to go and eat a well-deserved pizza.
Backpacking bailarinas 
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