Technical samba school rehearsals in the Sambodromo start this Saturday.

The first Samba School technical rehearsal in the Sambodromo is on the 6th December. Entrance remains free. These rehearsals are enormously popular - in 2009 there was an average of 40,000 spectators at each one. This year these rehearsals will mostly be on Saturday and Sunday evenings; the Friday night events have been curtailed because the necessary road closures caused enormous traffic problems last year.

Saturday 6th Dec also has 3 local football matches , so the rehearsals may be later than originally advertised, to allow the football crowds to disperse down Avenida Presidente Vargas before it is partially closed for the rehearsal.

To find out more about the Rio Carnival technical rehearsals in the sambodromo, and to see a timetable, click here.

Who runs the Rio Carnival samba School parades?

A complicated question, on some levels.

However, if you simply want to know about the organisations that administer the leagues of samba schools and their carnival parades, click here.

And the best song for carnival 2010 is....

Imperatriz’ samba  enredo has been voted the most popular of the Grupo Especial songs for Rio Carnival by a specially selected panel of judges in O Dia, the Rio de Janeiro newspaper. I agree; nice melody, good lyrics and, crucially, easy to sing.

Imperatriz’s theme for carnival 2010 is ‘Brazil of all the gods', and you can see a preview of their costumes for carnival 2010 here. Imperatriz’s carnavalesco (artistic designer) is Max Lopez. The official Grupo Especial CD is released on 7th December; you can buy it here.

The Rio samba school Salgueiro is planning to be holding its street rehearsals regularly on Wednesday evenings at Rua Sivas Teles, starting at 9pm.

The whole samba school will be practicing their parade down on the street, and singing their samba for 2010 "Stories without end"

The bateria will be out in force  with over 200 drummers, led by Mestre Marcão, and the puxador Quinho singing the song through a huge mobile sound system.

As usual with street rehearsals, there will be hot dog stalls, street barbecues, plenty of beer and other street food and drink to create a real party atmosphere.

Have you always dreamed about parading with a Rio Samba School?

If you get the opportunity, here's how to get the very best out of your experience.

You can buy a tourist package for Rio Carnival that includes parading with a Samba School.  You can also organise it yourself (advice below). Either way, if you want to know how to get the most out of this once in a lifetime experience, here's how to go about it.

Every year in the samba parades you can see confused tourists in costumes being herded by stewards, trying to fit in. With the right preparation you can have a much more satisfying experience, win the respect of the locals, and help your samba school in their effort to win carnival, too.    Read more.
    Read more

 Heres a pic of one of the costumes  the samba school Mocidade Independente is producing for carnival 2010.

You can see more photos of Mocidade's fantasias here

A costume for Rio Carnival 2010 from the samba school Salgueiro

You can see more Salgueiro costume pictures by following this link

http://www.sidneyrezende.com/noticia/63620

A baiana carnival costume by Uniao da Ilha samba school for Rio carnival 2010.

To see more 2010 Uniao da Ilha  costume pictures follow this link http://www.sidneyrezende.com/noticia/61567

 A costume for Rio Carnival 2010 from the samba school Imperatriz.

You can see more Imperatriz costume pictures by following this link

http://www.sidneyrezende.com/noticia/61566

67 meter Rio carnival float

Beija Flor is planning a 67meter long float for Rio Carnival 2010!

Rio Carnival floats are already gigantic. Up to 30 meters long, they often have problems getting under the motorway flyover outside the Sambadromo.  Sometimes floats get stuck trying to get round the right angled corner at the beginning of the sambodromo. Just one stuck float can create a gap in the parade that can prevent a samba school from winning the carnaval, the culmination of an entire years work.

Mangueira has also announced plans for a float over 60m long. There's no way that a 67m float can get round the corner, so there must be some clever engineering solutions planned. Will it be constructed like a train, or a caterpillar, with different segments joined together? Will there be a main part and then outlying bits connected by costume or theme?

And what about the rest of the samba school?  Six or seven other floats and 4000 dancers all have to get through the avenida within a fixed time limit.  Will the dancers have to run (losing points for harmony)? How will they get these monsters through the narrow street leading away from the carnival parade ground?

High Drama

Its things like this that keep Rio carnival fans in their uncomfortable concrete seats for the whole of the night. The carnival parades aren't just spectacle, beauty, music, art and dance; they are also high drama – if you know what to look out for.

And the result was...

Well, heres a picture I took of the giant float as it appeared in the carnival parade. Beija Flor is a well organised samba school, and they managed to get it round the corners and along the narrow streets without any major incident, through meticulous planning. Beija Flor came third overall in the results, not because of any technical problem with their parade, but because their theme was unpopular.

The float was made up of two smaller structures coupled together (like a train) so that they were able to bring it round the corner before assembling the full length.

But in this case, more was less. The overall effect, whilst stupendous, was also cold and impersonal. The parade became something to watch, not something to make you stand up and cheer. Such a shame. The beautiful spirit and energy of the participants ended up buried under the opulence of the costumes and props.