RIO DE JANEIRO — At a classical orchestra, a conductor’s raised hands often means the start of a performance. Tracing shapes in the air could point to how each beat must come. And one’s free fingers ...

By Eimear Cotter THE DRUM-beat of over two dozen samba drums resounded around a Swords primary school when a Drogheda-based percussionist visited recently. Brazilian music enthusiast and samba ...

Samba can’t be learned from a textbook alone. Brazil’s musical tradition is best understood first-hand and up close — close enough to feel the drumbeat reverberate inside you. “ It's like an ocean of ...

Rio de Janeiro erupted to the beat of drums on Sunday night as the dancers from the city's samba schools showed off their skills to win what promised to be the most expensive Carnival yet. Rio de ...

The Latin beat of the samba drum will echo through the streets of Drogheda this weekend as the town comes alive with the arrival of the Samba Festival 2006.The feast of Brazilian and Latin sounds, ...

The drum section plays throughout a school’s entire parade, lasting between 70 and 80 minutes, striving to lose neither tempo nor flair. Carnival judges score parades on a 10-point scale for various ...