Roxy Dinner Show tickets
The most reviewed samba show in the catalogue (97 reviews, 9.7), in Copacabana, with a show-only ticket from €67.55.
- Price
- from €67.55
- Duration
- 3 h 30 min
- Guest rating
- 9.7/10
- Cancellation
- Free up to 3 days before
Type of show
Samba shows in Rio de Janeiro: what to expect and how to choose
Rio offers samba three ways: a seated stage revue, a samba school rehearsal in its own hall, and a roda de samba in a bar.
What it is
Samba took shape in Rio de Janeiro in the early twentieth century, in Afro-Brazilian communities around the port and the district once called Little Africa, drawing on rhythms brought from Bahia. The first samba schools were founded in the late 1920s and their parade became the centre of Rio's carnival. Outside carnival week a visitor can meet samba in three forms, and they are different evenings.
The stage show is a theatre revue of about 60 to 90 minutes: dancers in carnival costumes, a live percussion section, and numbers on other Brazilian styles such as capoeira, frevo and forró. It is sold as a ticket with assigned or category seating, often with a hotel transfer and sometimes paired with a churrascaria dinner beforehand. The audience stays seated, though some shows invite people on stage near the end.
A samba school rehearsal (ensaio) is held at the school's own hall, the quadra, mostly on weekend nights in the months before carnival. It starts late, runs for hours and is standing: the drum section plays, the school sings its samba for the year and the crowd dances. A roda de samba is smaller. Musicians sit around a table in a bar or square and play while people stand around them, drink and sing.
Words you will meet
- Escola de samba
- A neighbourhood carnival association, not a teaching school, that prepares a parade with a theme, a song, costumes and floats each year.
- Ensaio
- A rehearsal, in practice a public party at the school's hall where the song and the drumming are practised.
- Bateria
- The percussion section of a samba school, which numbers in the hundreds for the parade.
- Passista
- A solo samba dancer in a school, known for fast footwork.
- Roda de samba
- A samba circle, with musicians seated around a table and the public standing around them.
- Mulata show
- An older term, still seen on some ticket pages, for the stage revue of samba dancers; it refers to mixed-race women and many Brazilians now find it dated or offensive.
- Quadra
- A samba school's covered hall, used for rehearsals, events and community activities.
- Samba-enredo
- The song a school composes each year to tell the theme of its parade.
The most reviewed shows
Samba school rehearsal visit
Four hours at a samba school's carnival rehearsal with pickup and a guide, from €50. Rehearsals do not run all year.
- Price
- from €50
- Duration
- 4 h
- Guest rating
- 7.5/10
- Cancellation
- Free up to 24 h before
Ginga Tropical show
An 80-minute dance show in São Conrado sold with hotel pickup and return, from €114.29, back at hotels around 23:00.
- Price
- from €114.29
- Duration
- 1 h 20 min
- Guest rating
- 9.1/10
- Cancellation
- Free up to 48 h before
Rio Scenarium night with dinner
A six-hour night: rodízio dinner, then live bands at Rio Scenarium in Lapa, with hotel pickup and return. From €128.79.
- Price
- from €128.79
- Duration
- 6 h
- Guest rating
- 7.8/10
- Cancellation
- Free up to 24 h before
Roxy Dinner Show with hotel transfer
The Roxy show with pickup and return from a wide list of districts, from €81.43. Ages 12 and over, minimum two people.
- Price
- from €81.43
- Duration
- 5 h
- Guest rating
- 8.3/10
- Cancellation
- Free up to 48 h before
You book on Civitatis, the ticket platform, under its own terms.
Common questions
Which should I choose: stage show, rehearsal or roda de samba?
The stage show is seated, timed and sold with transport, and runs all year. The rehearsal is a long, loud standing night among the school's own members. The roda is the least formal: live music in a bar, where you come and go as you like.
When do samba school rehearsals take place?
Schools open their halls for rehearsals in the months leading up to carnival, which falls in February or early March. Each school publishes its own calendar, and outside that season most halls hold no regular rehearsal.
How long does a samba stage show last?
About 60 to 90 minutes. With a dinner beforehand and a hotel transfer, the evening takes three to four hours.
Is a samba show the same as carnival?
No. The carnival parade is a competition between schools in the Sambadrome, with thousands of participants per school. A stage show borrows the costumes and the rhythm for a small cast in a theatre.