Hello. I am a 'relative' newcomer to ballroom dancing - I can QS, Waltz, Rumba, C-c-c etc to some extent but the Samba has attracted me. Looking at the steps on ballroomdancers.com can anyone suggest a simple routine of those steps to follow to dance a Samba? I am soon going to a ball where there will be a samba, but at the moment in lessons we are just doing the Tango, so I need some help for the smaba soon! Thanks very much.

To Spinner. To do it right. Samba is eight bar phased.In other words you should be able to hear the first bar in the music. Just do a front and back Reverse Basic. count 1a2 2a2 3a2 4a2. Now 4 Whisks, starting to the man's left counted the same, opening into promenade on the fourth whisk. That finishes 8 bars of music. The next 8 bars,do 3 Samba walks and 1 Side Samba Walk opening to LOD.Now 2 bars of Voltas to the mans right, crossing over 2 bars to the mans left. That finishes the other 8 bars of music, 16 in all. From here you can repeat or add new figues. There is a lot more to the Samba of course this is a very difficult dance when it comes to the timing and its changing rhythms plus the correct body tick. For now just remember the timing in a basic is 3/4. 1/4. 1.Then repeat.All of the above you will find in a technique book on the International style. The best that I have come across is the IDTA 's by Wally Laird.

Yep, it does move around the floor.

I'd work on your basic and perfect it. Keep your knees bent. It's like jumping rope, give a beginner a rope and he'll put too much into it therby wearing himself out. Beginners bounce too much; it's all in the hips. You'l use muscles that you never thought you had.

Spinner--

First, make a list of the patterns you know in Samba. Then, note by each if it is a traveling pattern (Ie. fwd/bck botofogos, voltas, copas, samba walks etc.) or a stationary pattern (Ie. basic, box, whisk, corte jaca).

Next...consider what patterns blend well one into the next and make yourself a nice simple sequence. A bit of stationary is always a nice way to start with a new partner...then some modest easily led traveling (botofogos perhaps), then something stationary again...a bit of travel...you get the idea. Social samba typically does not sprint about the floor. I know many a student who was quite happy to merely progress out of the corner at all in beginning Samba.

If you don't have very many traveling patterns in your repertoire...no worries, just try to stick in the middle of floor. And remember...Samba is IMHO the single most technically challenging dance inthe latin category. Don't sacrifice decent technique to the idea that you have to travel a 5 meters over the course of a song. Moving out in Samba takes time

Ok I will give it a go thanks. Only thing is...arn't you supposed to move round the room in the Samba?

Not as urgently as, say, Quickstep. But it does ultimately progress around LOD.

Perhaps the freshly-posted Weekly Variation would help?

basic,turn,whisk.turn,box.samba walk,whisk,volta

championdancesport kc,
What is 'IMHO'? Can you give a description on 'copas'?
TQ

Simon