Dance at London School of Samba

Samba is both a type of music and dance originating from the rhythms and traditions brought to Brazil by African slaves. It encompasses a range of styles, from the fast samba (batucada) played and danced in the Rio Carnival, to the funkier samba reggae favoured in Salvador and North Eastern Brazil. The main focus of dance at LSS is samba no pe, the practise of the samba step. However dancers also learn samba reggae and other steps.

We hold public dance workshops every Sunday evening. Everyone is welcome: men and women of all abilities. Just turn up and have a go! Children, over 12 and under 16, must be accompanied by a participating parent or guardian.



The 6.00 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. beginners' workshop is suitable if you have never danced samba before, or if you are not certain what the appropriate level of class is for you. Although the workshops develop on a rolling basis, it's worth your while coming along to give it a try as the basic samba step, samba no pe, is taught at almost every class and all the workshop leaders are completely non-judgmental. And even if you don't pick it up straight away it's great exercise and really burns off those calories!


The 6.00 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. intermediate workshop is suitable for you if you have been dancing samba for a while, have mastered the samba no pe step and would like to learn more. It is neither a beginners' nor an exercise class but a great place to learn from more experienced dancers. There is no extra fee for attending this class.


Clothing: Feel free to wear any clothes you like. Street clothes are OK, but you will find it easier to dance in loose clothing.

Shoes or bare feet? It's up to you and different teachers have different preferences but dance shoes are best and it's quite hard to dance samba in trainers because the soles can stick! If you dance in bare feet, the LSS will not take responsibility for splinters or any other foot damage!

Notting Hill Carnival

All members of the school are invited to take part in carnival every year and 2006 is no exception as the LSS will parade at Notting Hill for the 22nd year. In a break from tradition, our colours of green and white will be replaced by blue and white to represent our watery theme as the 100-strong bateria lead over 100 dancers in Europe's biggest carnival parade. With a choice of costumes and dance styles, there is enough to tempt everyone.

Check out the carnival page for more information.

Dance performances

In addition to parading at Notting Hill Carnival in August every year, the LSS performs at a large number of public and private events. These include national and international festivals, club nights and some corporate events.

The LSS pursues a policy of openness and inclusiveness with respect to selecting to its performance dancers. However, dancers are chosen on merit and only those who show both commitment and potential are invited to perform with the school. In spite of this we aim to give every dancer the best chance to advance, through encouraging attendance at workshops, and maximising opportunities to dance.

The LSS has instigated a performance policy which enables new dancers to become involved. Dance selection workshops take place every three to four months and are widely publicised during the dance workshops.

Find out about the Dance Policy document: (doc) - (pdf)