We are the Suffolk School of Samba.

Established in Ipswich in 1994 by a handful of keen individuals with knowledge in abundance and drums from a drum kit, we are proud to call ourselves the
original Samba group of East Anglia.  From our modest beginnings, the band has slowly gained momentum (as well as
members!), along the way, being joined by the dancers in 1998.

Our rhythms have been taught to hundreds of people, over the years, and we take great pride in being able to acknowledge performing to hundreds of
people at hundreds of events over the years.

We are NOT professionals. Our ritmistas (drummers) and our passistas (dancers) come from all across East Anglia, to meet every Thursday to rehearse
the very rhythms you hear us play at events!

We love to drum, and we love to dance and if you're interested, anybody can learn, just come along to a rehearsal, and we do the rest!
Like a lot of the schools in Brazil, a lot of our members are not professional performers, some having never drummed our danced before.
Our members just want to have a bit of fun and make some great friends whilst doing it.
Samba is for everybody, we enjoy having fun doing what we do, and love to make people smile!

We call ourselves a "Samba School" after the large Samba groups from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. These groups often have hundreds, if not thousands of
members, ranging from the Bateria (drums) to the passistas (dancers) and each School spends all year (from February to February) creating new rhythms,
theme song (known as the 'Samba de Enredo' in Brazil), costumes, floats and dances to perform at the "Carnaval" in the Sambadrome, where they compete
against other schools for the highest score from the judges.
The Suffolk School of Samba are inspired, and speciliase in the performance of Afro-Brazilian style rhythms and dance. Bringing a carnival atmosphere to any event! - With Brazilian Samba rhythms such as: Batucada, which is the fastpaced, intricate style taken from the schools in Rio, we also play Bahian-style
Samba, an Eastern region of Brazil where the rhythms are expressed through belief originally by the African Diaspora. The mixture of beliefs and traditions
can be known as Candomblé. This can be defined as "the practice of exchange with orixás"; these Orixas are signified with dance and dancers, of which music enables the dancers to express their emotions.
Candomblé developed among Afro-Brazilian communities amid the Atlantic slave trade of the 16th to 19th centuries. It arose through the blending of the
traditional religions brought to Brazil. Candomblé remained marginalized by the establishment, which typically associated it with criminality. When playing
music it was often concealed because of this association. So when questioned by the establishment of the time, the musicians had to hide what they were
doing. This is why even today we have the section of the band called “Kitchen". This is because when raided, you would pretend to just be cooking and banging your pots and pans in the kitchen “ It was the sound of the cooking" the authorities must of heard!
These rhythms consist of: Afoxé, Maracatu and Samba Reggae. To add some extra flavour, we also include Cuban Congo and Salsa.
Throw into the mix then, Funk, Hip-Hop and Jungle and you end up with our customary, distinctive eclectic sound, and continues to evolve, today, in what
Samba music represents “A diverse community that engages in dialogue and positive narrative for all communities”

Come feel the beat, watch the movement and enjoy the carnival...............

You can find details of our gigs on the 'Gigs List' or for details of how to join us please go to the 'Contact Us' link