By Shayna McHugh
Samba is more than fast feet — it’s posture, hips, rhythm, and emotion.
Samba always felt like a mystery I wasn’t meant to solve. I watched Brazilians move their hips at lightning speed – joyful, expressive, effortless – while I stood frozen, trying to decode what seemed like an impossible dance. Friends teased me lovingly: “Don’t come back from Brazil until you learn how to samba!” My answer was always the same: “Then I guess I’ll never return.”
I grew up believing the world was divided into two groups: people born with rhythm… and people like me. On any dance floor – weddings, concerts, clubs – being pulled to dance was my definition of humiliation. Others flowed naturally to the beat; I, however, didn’t know where any part of my body should be.
Still, I hoped that my upcoming semester in Brazil might magically change that. Maybe something in South America’s air, water, or energy would infuse a little rhythm into my gringa self.
The Struggle Begins: Trying to Learn Samba the “American Way”
Not all Brazilians know samba, but everyone is encouraged to participate.
Whenever Brazilians asked why I wasn’t dancing, I replied honestly: “Because I don’t know how to samba.”
They always smiled confidently: “No problem! I’ll teach you – it’s easy!”
“Easy” for them, maybe.
Their feet moved so fast I could barely track the movement. I analyzed every step like a scientist:
Where’s the first beat? Which foot moves on number two? Weight forward or back?
Whenever I demanded, “Do it slower,” they would, and in slow motion I could follow. But once the real rhythm started, my clumsy nervous system simply couldn’t keep up. The beat felt too fast for my brain to send signals to my feet.
Bahia: The Land Where Everyone Dances
I felt especially defeated during the six weeks I spent in Bahia – a place where music and movement are woven into daily life. There’s a famous line in a song: “Bahians have God in their hearts and the devil in their hips.” Accurate. Every child, teenager, and grandmother moved with ease. Even six-year-old girls danced better than I ever would.
Defeated, I decided at least to learn how to clap correctly to samba’s syncopated rhythm (not as easy for non-Brazilian ears as it sounds). I returned to the U.S. after my semester abroad with deep admiration for samba… and the certainty that I would never master it.
Back to Brazil – and Back to the Roda
After college, I returned to Brazil for marine natural products research. Many of my new friends held a samba de roda every couple of weeks. I clapped, I sang – but I stayed out of the circle.
That didn’t last long. There’s a playful song commonly sung at rodas:
Ponha a mão na cabeça…
Outra na cintura…
Dá um bom remelexo…
Dá umbigada pra outra…
Each verse asks the dancer to perform a movement – including the umbigada, when one dancer playfully bumps navels with another to call her into the roda. And yes, someone gave me an umbigada.
I entered the circle trying my best. For a moment, I felt almost confident – until the lyrics told me to place one hand on my head and one on my hip. Concentrating on my arms, I lost control of my feet, stumbled out of rhythm, and fled the roda at the earliest possible chance. The next dancer entered gracefully, reminding me exactly how awkward I was.
Samba de roda is a circle where people dance, sing, and clap together.
A New Approach: Stop Thinking, Start Feeling
That night I made a promise:
I would learn to samba – even if it took forever.
Then I remembered something: an article I’d read comparing cultures. North American and European traditions emphasize the mind, while African and Asian cultures – and Afro-Brazilian expressions like samba – connect through the body. Maybe the problem wasn’t my lack of rhythm. Maybe I’d been learning samba the wrong way – intellectually, instead of physically. At the next samba de roda, I tried something new.
No counting beats.
No analyzing steps.
I simply listened — and felt.
I let my body imitate what it saw instead of forcing the movement through thought. Then something incredible happened:
I started to get it. My body understood what my mind couldn’t.
Two of my former “teachers” noticed and celebrated: “A gringa finally learned how to samba!”
For the first time in my life, I jumped into the roda voluntarily – and loved every second.
What Samba Really Teaches
There is nothing magical in Brazil’s air or water that makes Brazilians great dancers. The secret is cultural: Brazilians don’t believe there are people who “can dance” and people who “can’t.”
Everyone dances.
Everyone participates.
Everyone belongs.
And that is the true beauty of samba
* Shayna McHugh was a chemistry student in 2005 when she first traveled to Brazil. She later received a Fulbright Scholarship, a program dedicated to fostering mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other nations, and spent time in Brazil conducting marine natural products research.
The best way to learn samba is to stop overthinking and feel the rhythm.
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why is samba difficult for many foreigners to learn?
Because samba is rooted in Afro-Brazilian bodily expression. Many North Americans approach dance analytically, while samba is learned by feeling rhythm, not counting steps.
2. What is a samba de roda?
A traditional circle where people dance, sing, and clap. Dancers enter the center one at a time, often invited through an umbigada — a playful bump of the navels.
3. What is the best way for beginners to learn samba?
Stop overthinking. Watch, feel the rhythm, and allow your body to follow naturally. Samba is more about expression than perfection.
4. Do all Brazilians know how to dance samba?
Not literally all, but Brazilian culture encourages participation without judgment. Dance is viewed as joy, not performance — which makes people more relaxed and natural.
5. Is samba only about fast footwork?
No. Samba involves rhythm, posture, hip movement, musicality, and emotional expression. What looks “fast” is actually a relaxed, fluid response to the beat.
