Nothing, I repeat nothing, is quite like a night at a samba school rehearsal in the weeks leading up to Carnival. You can certainly have a great night at a corner bar or at the most exclusive night club in New York City, but the experience you’ll have at a samba school trumps both of those experiences.

Forgot your fedora? Not to worry – you can buy one on your way into the samba school

One of the most unique parts of a night at a samba school is that truly everyone is welcome. You have a sparkly dress or finely tailored suit? Come on in. Only have on a pair of flip flops, shorts and a t-shirt? Well, don’t let that stop you! You’re 65 years old and you’re here with your 6 year old grandchild and you both want to dance until 3:00 AM? Right this way!   As long as you have a good attitude and are ready to enjoy yourself, you’ll fit right in.

Saturday night around 11:00 PM I found myself weaving through groups of smiling people as we made our way to the entrance of the Vila Isabel warehouse sized building. First you buy your entrance ticket through a small circular window cut into the wall of the building – just large enough to pass your money through, but not quite large enough to see what’s going on behind the wall. You almost feel like you’re about to purchase something illegal, but for about a $5.00 investment (for women, about twice that for men) you’re just getting a ticket to head inside the large hall.

My ticket into the samba action

Aside from a large stage, a wide open concrete dance floor, and some blue and white decorations on the walls and ceilings, there’s not too much else in terms of interior decorating. That’s OK! You’re really just there to listen to (or rather feel) the music and to dance and have a great time.

I made my way inside to dance with the Vila Isabel samba school.

Here’s a little taste of what you’ll experience (the woman in orange at the end of the video was my friend’s mother and she never once stopped dancing or smiling. She left us younger folks in the dust!):

As it got past midnight, the dance floor got more and more crowded, but never to the point where you felt suffocated. Thank goodness for good fans and air conditioning, it never got too hot on the dance floor unless you brought it on yourself with non-stop dancing.

And while the female samba dancers are normally featured, the men should be given their props too.  Just watch how fast this guy’s feet move!

We decided to call it a night around 3:00 AM but there were plenty of folks still dancing and drinking and talking as if it were the middle of the afternoon.  It wasn’t until after we made our way out of the club and into the streets that I realized I had stayed entirely too close to the giant speakers.  I couldn’t hear properly out of my right ear for about 48 hours.  But now that I’m back to my regular hearing, I can honestly say the night was a complete blast and I can’t wait to do it again.