Today Samba is the most prevalent dance form in Brazil, and reaches the height of its importance during the festival of Carnaval.

Father Miguel Lopes Gama of Sacramento wrote an article arguing against what he called "the samba d'almocreve", which was a type of dance drama popular with black people of that time.

[2] According to Hiram Araújo da Costa, over the centuries, the festival of dances of slaves in Bahia were called samba.

[2] Samba de Roda was the main form of circle dance, provenient from the Candomblé Afro-Brazilian Tradition.

[3] Samba further developed specific characteristics in each Brazilian state, not only due to the diversity of tribes of African immigrants, but also because of the distinctive cultures each region embodied.

For instance, in Bahia the girls tend to dance tilting their legs towards the outside instead of keeping their knees close to each other as in Rio de Janeiro.

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.

[3] Pagode-like events have dated back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the emergence of urban Samba in Rio de Janeiro.

The third- and fourth drummers, known as surdos perform short choreographies, utilizing mallets to emphasize sharp arm movements.

The fundos (the first and second surdos at the lead) often take center stage to showcase elaborate, deft mallet lifts and throws, and also toss their drums high overhead.

It blends the African 'ginga' (body flow from Capoeira), which is present at the feet and the hips, and the European reference of the ballroom etiquette.

The term "Samba" encompassed many different rhythms, tunes, drumming and dances of various periods and areas of the Brazilian territory.

However, the most universally recognized cultural origin of Samba is Lundu, a rhythm that was brought to Brazil by the Bantu slaves from Africa.

When the African slaves where imported, it was named the "semba" and with the introduction of the Arabic Pandeiro (tambourine), brought into the Roda by the Portuguese, the "Samba" was molded into the form of dance it is now.

The absent beat is the strongest characteristic of Samba prompting the listener to dance to fill the gap with her/his body movements.

The Samba de Roda has significantly waned during the twentieth century due to economic decline and increased poverty in the region.

Finally, the weakening of the Samba de Roda was heightened through the aging of practitioners and demise of those who made the musical instruments.