Forró

Forró is a type of dance popular in Northeastern Brazil, as well as a type of music which accompanies the dance. Both are much in evidence during the annual Festa Junina (June Festival).

Origin of the term

One theory popularly held in the region is that the word forró is a derivative of the English expression "for all" and that it originated in the early 1900s. English engineers on the Great Western Railroad would throw balls on weekends and classify them as either only for railroad personnel or for the general populace ("for all"). This belief was somewhat reinforced by a similar practice by USAF personnel stationed at the Natal Air Force Base during World War II.

The second theory, viewed as more reliable, puts forró as a derivative of forrobodó, meaning "great party" or "commotion". This is the view held by Brazilian folklorist Câmara Cascudo, who studied the Brazilian Northeast through most of his life.

Popularity

Forró is the most popular genre in Brazil's Northeast. It has evolved into a number of subgenres. Traditional forró, played with only three instruments (accordion, zabumba and a metal triangle), is now known as forró pé-de-serra.

Themes

Forró lyrics are usually about love and romance, passion, jealosy, or reminiscing about an ex-lover.

Some artists

Forró bands are often named after a type of food. Mastruz com Leite (cereal and milk) and Noda de Caju (the pit of a caju fruit) are two popular examples of this trend. Brucelose and Baba de Moça are two more bands who, in traditional forró fashion, refer to their own band's name and to the dance of forró in their music.

How to dance forró

Forró is danced in partners, usually man and woman, close together. The man's right leg is between the woman's legs and her right leg is between his. His right arm wraps around her waist and he holds her left hand with his right hand off to his left side. Dancers move in sync with one another. The steps for the man (opposite for the woman) are simply right-left-right,(hold), left-right-left, (hold) and repeat. Learn by watching a couple dancing and pay attention to the hips. Hips are key.