Botafogo, also sometimes spelt as Bota-fogo or Bota Fogo, is a

dance step Dance moves or dance steps (more complex dance moves are called dance patterns, dance figures, dance movements, or dance variations) are usually isolated, defined, and organized so that beginning dancers can learn and use them independently of each ...

in Samba. Depending on relative positions and handholds, there are several versions of Botafogos while the basic footwork technique is the same. The name comes from

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood ('' bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of ...

place in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. A generic Botafogo step pattern may start from either foot, either forward or backward, and its three steps are counted as "1..a2". During the dance the Botafogos are usually repeated several times, from alternating feet. A sample footwork is as follows: *Start facing, e.g., diagonally to the wall. *On "1" step forward with the left foot slightly diagonally across the body (i.e., step in CBMP) *On "a" step sideways with

partial weight transfer {{unreferenced, date=January 2011 A weight transfer or weight change is dancer's movement so that their weight is moved from one supporting foot (or supporting limb/body part) to another one fully or partially. Walking, for example, involves shi ...

. During this and the next steps, make a quarter turn to the left. *On "2" replace the full weight onto the left foot. *End the figure facing diagonally to the center. The ballroom Samba has the following named variations of Botafogo: *Travelling Botafogos Forward *Travelling Botafogos Back *Criss Cross Botafogos *Shadow Botafogos *Contra Botafogos *Botafogos to PP and CPP (to

promenade position The promenade position (abbreviated as PP in dance diagrams) is a dance position in ballroom and other dances. It is described differently in various dance categories. Connection The promenade position is a "V" shaped dance position with the man' ...

and

counter promenade position The counter promenade position (abbreviated as CPP in dance diagrams) is a dance position in ballroom and other dances. It is described differently in various dance categories, but essentially it is the opposite of the promenade position. Ballro ...

)

TV show references

Botafogo dance moves are often mentioned various times on the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

television show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

's '' Strictly Come Dancing'', when the dancers perform various Latin dances. They were also used on the professional dancers' challenge during the Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two (a companion show to the main Strictly Come Dancing TV show) 2011 season. The dancers were challenged to perform the most botafogos in 30 seconds to set a new

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

. The winner was Artem Chigvintsev with 79 botafogos. Again it was featured on ''Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' in 2019 with

Graziano Di Prima Graziano Di Prima (born 7 May 1994) is an Italian dancer and choreographer. Career Di Prima was born in Sicily. He toured with Burn the Floor, UK in 2021 alongside other professional dancers and the Strictly Come Dancing the Professionals Live ...

winning with a record 90 botafogos.

References

Botofogo, how to dance
You Tube {{DEFAULTSORT:Botafogo (Dance Move) Social dance steps Samba