Samba de Rainha | Brazilian Samba Dance & Entertainment London

Samba de Rainha teaches authentic Brazilian samba in London, grounded in the lived experience of instructor Liani Devito, originally from Santos, a coastal city in São Paulo. Liani trained intensively for four years at Pineapple Dance Studios in Jazz, Latin, Commercial and Samba, and has been the resident Brazilian Samba instructor there since 2021. She brings to her teaching a deep connection to Rio's carnival culture: she trains and performs annually as a passista with Acadêmicos do Salgueiro (2022–present) and other leading Rio samba schools, and founded her own London-based school, Império da Rainha, in 2024, which won the 2025 Notting Hill Carnival Brazilian Band competition in its first two years.

Classes focus on core samba technique—fast samba no pé, samba walks, poses, and floreios—using traditional and contemporary samba music. The classes are open level, welcoming beginners through advanced dancers. You can train Monday to Sunday: Mondays feature live drums at LSE Holborn (The Saw Swee Hock Centre); Wednesdays and Fridays run at Pineapple Dance Studios (6:25 PM and 6:30 PM respectively); Sundays offer online-only classes at 11:00 AM. Both studio classes are also streamed live online for £8 via the Pineapple App. Liani also offers 4-week beginners courses, online samba technique courses at different levels, and choreography courses. Students interested in performing can join Sambistas da Rainha, her performance team, which takes part in shows, festivals, and carnivals in London, across Europe, and in Brasil, including Notting Hill Carnival.

Samba de Rainha is built as a community space where students build confidence, self-esteem, and body awareness while learning Brazilian Portuguese and cultural expression. Liani's background includes capoeira training with Mestre Fábio Parada in her teenage years, later teaching Latin Ballroom at Arthur Murray Dance Studios in Houston, Texas, and performing internationally across the UK, Europe, Australia, and the United States—including work on Basement Jaxx music videos and BBC interviews on Brazilian samba culture. In London's carnival scene, she was a passista and later Rainha de Bateria (Queen of the Drums) with Paraíso School of Samba from 2016 to 2023, leading her own ala for four consecutive years at Notting Hill Carnival. She is also a Senior Lecturer in Biosciences and a Biomedical Scientist.

The studio works from Pineapple Dance Studios at 7 Langley Street in Westminster, central London (near Covent Garden, Leicester Square, and Holborn tube stations). Liani also runs classes at LSE Holborn (The Saw Swee Hock Centre) on Mondays.

You'll learn samba technique in an open-level class taught by a Brazilian instructor who trains in Rio every year. Beginners are welcome; wear flat dance shoes or socks. Classes combine drilled technique with music, cultural context, and a focus on building strength, musicality, and confidence alongside other students.

Liani Devito, originally from Santos in São Paulo, leads all classes. She trained intensively at Pineapple Dance Studios, is the resident Brazilian Samba instructor there since 2021, and trains and performs annually as a passista with Acadêmicos do Salgueiro and other leading Rio samba schools. She founded Império da Rainha in 2024.

Yes; the studio explicitly welcomes beginners and offers dedicated 4-week beginner courses before progressing to weekly open-level classes.