Sambodromo.

I forgot to mention in my last post one (slightly important) experience I had during Carnaval. My colleague and I got to participate in the Sambodromo, the large samba competition held every year during Carnaval. The escolas de samba practice the whole year to participate in this event, and they usually have outsiders (ie, me) come and "fill in the gaps"-- they use us to help create a larger and more spectacular show.

The experience was incredible-- and unlike anything I could possibly describe. Every samba school has it's own theme-- ours, Sao Clemente-- was the ocean. Everyone had costumes relating to the ocean-- I got to have one with a life saver. There were others who carried umbrellas, ones that looked like fish, etc. The floats-- there were, I believe, three-- were tremendous.

My feet were tired from dancing for over 60 minutes (there's actually a specific time frame that the school must be performing in the Sambodromo) but I couldn't stop-- especially because we were positioned right behind a group of samba dancers (college-aged boys dressed in sailor uniforms and little girls, no more than 10, busting moves I couldn't dream of pulling off) and the bateria (the percussion section). The show ended too quickly, and because I was performing, I wasn't able to stay around to see the rest.

If I lived in Rio, I'd like to participate in the school and really learn the moves-- it would be incredible to learn how to dance the way they do. Until then, I'm happy being a filler, and would love to one day go and see the show in the Sambodromo. I'll just have to make sure to rest up the night before-- the show doesn't start till around 9 PM, and finishes at about 6 in the morning. Yowza.