Rio 2014!
Lent is almost upon us, the time of year when hundreds of Christians across the world give up luxuries to mark the death and resurrection of Jesus- although hopefully they won’t be sacrificing their dance shoes! Before you put a lock on the fridge or impose a social media ban there is still time for one last blow out. Although the acrobatics necessary for the perfect pancake flip are entertaining the traditional pre-Lent binge requires a feather boa and some sparkly shoes. It’s Carnival Time!
Pre-Lent balls and processions are a tradition which date back to the medieval era. Over the next few days cities across the world will be filled with revellers and floats as people dispose of all the things they will deny themselves in the following six weeks. Nowhere however, will the party be as big as in the ‘Carnival capital of the world’ Rio de Janeiro. Forget the football Rio 2014 starts on Friday 28th February!
The Rio Carnival dates back to 1823 and attracts two million people a day. It centres on the cities Samba Schools; associations or social clubs that represent the cities different neighbourhoods. Since 1932 the Samba competitions have been the main purpose of the festivities. On Sunday and Monday night twelve of the cities best Samba Schools will parade through the Sambadrone in the hope to win one of the six places on the Champions parade, which will take place this year on Saturday 8th March. Any place with a Sambadrone sounds great to us here at Dancewear Central! More than two hundred Samba schools participate in the Carnival overall, however, and each have their own flags, colour scheme, music and floats. This riot of colour, music and of course dancing makes it the perfect wait to celebrate before the following chocolate-free weeks.