From left Mara Benitez, Pearl Chaiyarat, Valeria Daki and the rest of the dancers in a Samba Soul class work on a routine. (Shmuel Thaler - Santa Cruz Sentinel) Rebecca Clark moves joyfully to the ...

People across Brazil gathered to celebrate the National Day of Samba. The traditional dance is considered Brazil's national rhythm and can be traced to Brazil's slave trade from West Africa.

Members of the Padre Miguel samba school performing at the Sambadrome during Carnival festivities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. REUTERS ...

The last of the Rio Carnival 2013 was all about the blocos (street troupes), as the famous samba schools wound up their parades. Following Fat Tuesday, the task of drawing people to the streets ...

More than 70,000 people gathered at the city's huge concrete arena known as the Sambadrome, where samba schools compete to be crowned carnival champions. This float was an homage to Marielle ...

The samba dancers dressed in their bikinis, sequins and feathers at the Rio Carnival 2014 are the sexy showstoppers of the world's biggest street party. Swaying to beats of samba music ...

The supercharged, lively celebrations consist of samba competitions between rival ... Click through the gallery above to see the best pictures captured at this year's Rio Carnival festivities.