Learn the basics of Samba no Pe with Ella: a dancer who was a passista in Rio Carnival in 2006 and Rainha Da Bateria for the London School of Samba in 2007.

Made by Element Arts a dance company based in London UK who specialise in Samba from Brazil, Rumba from Cuba and Salsa from NYC, this course will teach you all you need to know to begin your journey dancing Samba:a beautiful dance from Brazil (Salvador da Bahia originally).

We will teach our twist on Rio style Samba taking you through the basics, body movement, styling, footwork and a combination. Samba no Pe is an improvised dance, so whilst we teach a combination, we always encourage you to freestyle.

Samba is frequently identified as a musical expression of urban Rio de Janeiro, where it developed during the first years of the 20th century, though the Samba de Roda (which came first) is said to be from Salvador da Bahia. The word ‘samba’ is thought to be derived from the Kimbundu (Angolan) term ‘semba’, which referred to an ‘invitation to dance’.

Artists used samba music to express their opinions on the social, economic and political issues in the country. In the 1870s, politicians attempted to prohibit samba on the pretext that folkloric dances shamed Brazil’s national image, but it is widely believed that artists were censored during the country’s dictatorships for disguising protest messages in songs.

By the 1980s, samba became associated with a more ethnically aware political movement, aligned both with the Black Power movement in the United States and the Caribbean as well as the Pan-African movement in Africa

All you need for this class is yourself, your enthusiasm, a warm body and a space to dance. The full course is 2 hours and 15 minutes long and takes you through the basics.