Me and Samba, Jury Still Out-----

[Phil Owl]

OK, guess I need to vent some.

I've gotten 2 Samba lessons under my belt so far, and STILL, this dance is just throwing me for a loop. I just can't seem to feel the danged thing at all, though I have little flickers that seem to die out quickly.

This is one Latin dance I really wanted to learn but somehow, it is just knocking me on my tail. Is there something horribly wrong with me? Is Samba a bit more difficult to get than other Latin dances, or is it just me being a neurotic perfectionist?

Thoughts? Experiences?

[Ray Sison]

It can be a challenging dance. Please keep it up, because it is also a fabulous dance with great music as well!

[Spitfire]

I lost interest in Samba as I found it troubling, but would like to try getting into it again.

I don't know about other localities, but out here more people do the Samba line dance whenever one is being played rather than the partner dance.

[rbazsz]

I lost interest in Samba as I found it troubling, but would like to try getting into it again.

I don't know about other localities, but out here more people do the Samba line dance whenever one is being played rather than the partner dance.

I have noticed that too. I would probably prefer to learn the line dance if given a choice.

[opendoor]

..this dance is just throwing me for a loop ..or is it just me being a neurotic perfectionist?

Hi Phil, I can understand you so well. You know I´m a tango dancer and in tango there is a quick rhythmic variant in 2/4, too (Milonga). It almost took one year till I got into it. We are of european or north-atlantic origin, give your brain and soul the chance and time to catch up what the natives of that specific dance style cut one´s teeth on. I told you it took one year and then, overnight the dam was broken.

By the way (and you only have to learn one - two - three in portuguese) there are hundreds of Gafiera tutorials on YT (Gafiera is the original samba variant of Rio de Janeiro). Look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzvJP0JZgys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCaU5jyA-c4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq81RsSWACo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xi4HjybAHc

And do you already know the CDs of the Orquestra Imperial ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orquestra_Imperial
Purest Samba (with a skosh of 70s feeling) from the place of it´s origin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quVrbPFrC-0

[nucat78]

IME, learning samba is like any other dance - some aspects are tricky / difficult, some easy. I still get my samba terminology confused though. A bota-what??? LOL.

What specifically is frustrating? The timing?

Re: samba line dance, its popularity varies by venue here. It is much easier to dance IMO than with a partner (no connection necessary).

[Bailamosdance]

2 lessons give you no perspective on this! Give it a while to sink in to you and your muscles.... Dance is measured over time, over months and years (meaning you will feel the effects of dance instruction in months not weeks).

[fascination]

Initially, I found samba technique to be very difficult...I do think it is something that requires more time than many of the other dances

[kckc]

hang in there. It is a fun dance with great music, but it can be a bit more challenging than others. Two lessons isn't nearly enough to get past the frustration part.

I'm not sure if I've seen a samba line dance or not- I saw two people last night doing something that looked like some sort of line dance to samba music, but then again, they may have just been dancing to the beat of their own (samba) drummer :)

[danceronice]

Samba line dance seems to be a big thing in the midwest. (I refuse to participate on principle, finding it an offence against man and God and all that.)

There's something especially tricky about the samba rhythm. But it's fun when it works. It just seems to take more for most people...

[Zhena]

There's something especially tricky about the samba rhythm. But it's fun when it works. It just seems to take more for most people...

I can agree with that. I remember way back to the first time DH and I did samba ... our teacher bragged to all the other teachers ... "hey look, they got it the first time" ... it seemed to be a big deal (he didn't react that way to most other accomplishments, lol). We credit our background in strange folk dance rhythms.

[Phil Owl]

Samba line dance seems to be a big thing in the midwest. (I refuse to participate on principle, finding it an offense against man and God and all that.)

There's something especially tricky about the samba rhythm. But it's fun when it works. It just seems to take more for most people...

Samba line-dance is HUGE here in Atlanta, it seems to have almost completely eclipsed the partner Samba. It' so weird, partner Samba almost never comes up in group classes here, last night was a rare exception. Even still, the material was geared largely to the line-dance version, with some partner style at the end. Also, we were given a lot of more advanced material that I honestly think some of us were ready for, this may have compounded my frustration.

I'm willing to keep trying and hope that somehow I'll have a breakthrough, similar to what I had with Tango and Waltz not too horribly long ago (2 dances I now thoroughly love)

Good to know I'm not the only one that has struggled with Samba..

Have to admit, I've never warmed up to samba line dance (or any kind of line dancing in general, but that's beside the point).

[Ray Sison]

For many people, Samba is their favorite dance. It it certainly one of my favorites--and I love the music and that Samba beat...

[fascination]

I like samba...alot..in a line or with a partner...to me it is the same in terms of how it feels in my body...and I would rather do it alone than do it poorly with someone else....shrug

[Angel HI]

I hate that Samba line dance, and yeah, during my time here in Atlanta, it is all over the place.

Samba is a great dance.
@ OD, It is unfortunate that the original Brazilian style is not more integrated into the BR version.
@ the OP, another poster (too lazy to go back and see whom) is correct in that 2 lessons is not enough time to feel badly. Give yourself and the dance more time. It is the most difficult of the latin dances, and is way too often very misunderstood.

There are some great past threads on this. I'll see if I can find the one that discusses the styles and techniques in detail. Oh TC...............?

[Terpsichorean Clod]

Samba Footwork and Timing (http://danceforums.com/showthread.php?t=31882)
Samba (http://danceforums.com/showthread.php?t=11691)

[flashdance]

Thoughts?

Keep at it chap, you'll only fail if you give up! :cool:

[Ray Sison]

Keep at it chap, you'll only fail if you give up! :cool:

+1 :cheers: