Dancers gear up for Rio Carnival

In Rio’s iconic Sambadrome, musicians and dancers are hard at work, gearing up for the carnival. Every year, an increasing number of groups featuring professional dancers flock to the city. 

Among them is Raphaëlle Charron, who has travelled from Montreal. 

“It’s a lot of hard work. The Brazilian women and men that do it all year long have all my admiration because honestly, it’s a lot of ‘entrega’. You’re putting a lot of yourself into it, a lot of sweat,” Charron says.

The carnival, which is expected to see eight million people flock to the city, provides the opportunity for tourists and dancers alike to learn about different cultures.

Dancer Georgette Barnes says, “So what’s happening is there’s a lot of people interested and connecting with different cultures around the world and samba offers a space where you can dance and learn a lot about the culture, a lot about the movements, you can learn a lot about connecting with the communities here, the people, all through the dance.”

The top dancers get the honour of performing at the Sambadrome venue. Every year, Samba schools parade through the Sambadrome, which can hold more than 80,000 visitors and and 5000 participants. A panel of around 40 judges are seated around the stadium, analysing the costumes, music and movement of the schools, before announcing the winning school on Ash Wednesday.

Despite the preparation being intense, participants are enjoying themselves. Dancer Lea Nifaut said,“it’s been great, really incredible, very good energy. This year the school chose to honour African culture, and as a citizen of Réunion, these things resonate with me. I’m very proud for having participated while promoting Brazilian culture and the African cultural heritage.”

The carnival kicks off on the 28th February, and ends on March 5th.