Lambada

THE FORBIDDEN

DANCE

The word lambada refers both to the rhythm - a fusion of Carimb and merengue - and to the dance, which incorporates elements of forr, samba, merengue and Maxixe (the 19th century Brazilian dance which was a tremendous success in Europe).

History of Lambada

The dance is sexy, yes, but it is danced by all kinds of people, of all ages and sexes, without the "dirty" connotations given to it by very bad Hollywood movies. It's very graceful, fast-paced, and believe me, when you have to move your feet and body that fast on the dance floor without tripping all over yourself and falling on the dance floor, the LAST thing on your mind is sex...Anyway, the rhythm originated in the Amazon, was later adopted by Bahians, who proceeded to create the steps...and the rest is history!

The origins - The "CARIMB"

Since the time Brazil was a Portuguese colony (which happened between year 1500 a.c. till 1822 a.c.) there was a common dance in the north part of the country called Carimb. It was a loose and very sensual dance in which the woman tried to cover the man with many spins and rounded skirts. The music was played mainly among beats of drums made of trunks of wood, thinned by fire.

As time passed by, the dance changed as did the music itself. It had many influences from the Caribbean music due to its geographical proximity, and a reminder of this is that even today one can listen to Caribbean radio stations when at some north states of Brazil like the Amap state. This strong relation also generated some new rhythms like the Sirimb and the Lari Lari, and so it changed forever the way the Carimb was danced.

My favorite dance ever...