| Category |
Logo |
Explanation |
| A |
 |
A
Samba School is the most complex and most demanding of the samba groups.
Minimally, it must have a bateria and compose its own songs, a group
of baianas, flag-bearer and ballroom master, front commission, and
parade once a year in a formal setting with a chosen theme. Although
many groups have "samba school" in their titles, they are not really
samba schools but some other type found below. |
| B |
 |
A
Bloco is the step just before a samba school. At a minimum, blocos
have a percussion unit and dancers and participate formally in parade
formation once a year. |
| C |
 |
A
bateria is a group that only has drummers. Sometimes they join up
with dance groups to parade. |
| D |
 |
A
dance group consists of dancers and often give classes and parade
with percussion groups. |
| E |
 |
A
bloco afro is patterned after groups in Northern Brazil and play timbalada,
samba reggae, and other rhythms from Bahia. They consist of drummers
and dancers and parade formally once a year in processions that can
last for hours. |
| F |
 |
Folkloric
groups usually consist of dancers, or dancers and drummers and dance
and play a variety of Brazilian rhythms including samba, timbalada,
frevo, etc. |
| G |
 |
Samba
bands are small groups of musicians that play samba, pagode, samba
de roda, marches, and other samba styles. |
| H |
 |
Some
samba clubs have spontaneous samba groups and musicians but are not
highly organized like a samba school. Their atmosphere is that of
a club where people go to hear samba and dance. |
