From the dance to the heritage: the story of the steps

Based on rhythms, creativity, and improvisation, the passinhos are movements capable of transforming any beat into a spectacle. Despite the movements, it is not simply a dance, but rather a cultural manifesto that was born in the Rio de Janeiro favelas in the early 2000s and crossed borders — geographical and social — until being officially recognized as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of the State of Rio de Janeiro in 2024.

The movements were created by young people at funk parties, emerging as a space for expression and healthy competition among groups. Inside the dance floors of the Complexo do Jacarezinho, various dancers gathered to showcase their best repertoire of steps. One would create, and the other would "charingar" — a term used to copy and improve a movement. It was basically a game of body, but also of imagination and style.

Over time, the Passinho ceased to be just improvisation: it began to gain sequences, “combos,” and original steps, thanks to names like Cebolinha, one of the so-called pioneers of the style. In the beginning, anything could be a passinho, until dancers started to create patterns and truly transform it into a dance.

Influences

The Passinho has various references. However, its foundations are found in carioca funk — especially in the faster versions, like 150 BPM — but its essence dialogues with frevo, capoeira, samba, Afro-Brazilian dance, breakdance, hip hop, and even elements of dancehall and kuduro.

From street circles to the internet

The transition from the dance floor to the web began between 2008 and 2009, when videos of passinho duels began being posted in Orkut communities, reaching millions of views. At that time, competition ceased to be only in-person: likes and views became a new currency of status.

According to writer and cultural producer Júlio Ludemir, “the passinho was the first aesthetic manifestation of a peripheral youth who frequented lan houses and operated on social networks.” It was also the moment of explosion for other names, like Quinho, Sandersson, and Gambá — the latter being one of the most beloved figures in the scene, unfortunately murdered on New Year’s Eve in 2012.

Online popularity inspired the creation of the Batalha do Passinho in 2011, idealized by Ludemir and musician Rafael Mike. The event officialized the duels, bringing together hundreds of participants and being portrayed in the documentary A Batalha do Passinho (2013), by Emílio Domingos.

Global recognition

In 2012, Passinho dancers performed at the closing ceremony of the London Paralympics. In 2014, they took the stage at Lincoln Center in New York. In 2015, they packed the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro with a popular audience — a historic scene for a traditionally elitist space. And in 2016, they were featured at the opening of the Rio Olympics, bringing the rhythm of the favela to the center of a global event.

This mix was not by chance. The early 2000s marked the expansion of classic lan houses, Orkut, and YouTube, allowing young people from the carioca periphery to connect with videos of dancers from around the world — and also to broadcast their own style. The international street aesthetic, with flat-brimmed caps, baggy t-shirts, denim or tactel shorts, and high-top sneakers, was reinterpreted by the warmth and creativity of the favelas.

Fashion and funk artists

Fashion was not achieved during the peak of the passinhos; rather, it was integrated into the movement as an identity part of an entire community. This perspective — coming from the periphery — shows how peripheral groups from that time marked their aesthetic as personality and creativity.

Among the kits of that time, we saw brands becoming prominent, such as Oakley, Cyclone, New Era, Mizuno, Nike, Rider, and many others. The clothing included baggy t-shirts, tactel shorts, sandals or flip-flops, and caps. Additionally, accessories like maximalist chains with dollar signs or intertwined designs, in addition to the classic Juliets, gained more and more space in the scene — becoming essential items beyond the steps, also representing the individual's identity aesthetics.

Fashion in funk has always been more than an aesthetic — it is a language in the periphery. What emerged in this context conveyed a clear message: the youth of the community also had voice, presence, and style. Dancing with baggy shorts, thick chains, and Nike Shox was not just aesthetics, but an assertion of identity. It was a demonstration of their ability to occupy space and be seen, even though society insisted on criminalizing their image. The ostentation was not frivolity; rather, it was a symbol of victory, of having a certain "authority and confidence" to circulate with the same brands that the elite exhibited.

At the same time, other styles emerged with different energy: improvisation, rhythm, and cunning, reflecting the daily life of the favela. They did not carry the weight of ostentation, but rather the strength of collectivity. The dance emerged on pavements, rooftops, and dance parties, showing that the favela was not just a stage for violence, but also for creativity and cultural power. When it gained visibility, it exposed to society that funk was art, innovation, and resistance.

The impact was clear: these movements placed the periphery at the center of urban culture. While some showcased ascent through consumption and others exalted the favela as a cradle of authenticity, they all carried the same message — peripheral youth create, reinvent, and set trends. What was seen as marginal transformed into a reference, changing how Brazil views its own popular culture.

Women in the scene

If in the beginning the Passinho was a predominantly male territory, today the narrative unfolds differently. Artists like Lellê, former member of Dream Team do Passinho, helped open space for more female dancers, who faced sexism within the circles. “At first, women did not have the same respect. Today, they are competing equally, facing each other,” says Carol Félix, MC and activist for the cultural recognition of dance.

Lellê, who learned about Passinho through her adoptive brother Tininim, recalls: “I was already dancing in church and was inspired by Beyoncé, but the passinho was something unique. It changed my life, took me to stages, theaters, and festivals.”

Developments

Passinho do Romano The Passinho do Romano emerged in the east zone of São Paulo, specifically in the Jardim Romano neighborhood, around 2014. Unlike the carioca passinho, which came from funk, it was born closer to the languages of hip hop and black music. The first viral videos showed young people dancing in front of houses or in the streets, improvising steps that mixed broken movements, spins, and choreographed gestures, always with a touch of “street attitude.”

The music that accompanied this style was not carioca funk but rather heavier beats, influenced by national rap, R&B, and funk melody. The connection with hip hop is evident: the choreographies brought references from breakdance, popping, and krump, but reinterpreted in a lighter and more playful way.

Visually, the Passinho do Romano reflected the street aesthetic of São Paulo at the time: flat-brimmed caps (often from New Era), loose shirts with team prints, gold chains, and high-top sneakers (Nike Air Force, Adidas Superstar, Puma Suede). The idea was to convey authenticity and a certain visual “weight,” even while being a relaxed dance style.

This passinho grew prominently through Facebook and YouTube, with home-recorded videos and spontaneous language, reinforcing the internet culture and memes that were already shaping peripheral youth at the time.

Passinho dos Maloka

The Passinho dos Maloka was born in Recife as a natural development of brega-funk, which was on the rise in the city. Unlike the passinhos from Rio and São Paulo, it has a more sensual and rhythmic feel, with a strong presence of hip movements and body transitions, as brega-funk features slower and heavier beats.

The musical foundation came from local DJs and MCs who were popularizing the genre — like Shevchenko and Elloco — and the dance accompanied the beat breaks and the choruses sung in a more measured manner. The steps combined body play, exaggerated facial expressions, and theatrical gestures, creating a very distinctive style.

In terms of clothing, the look was more colorful and daring: ripped denim shorts, printed tank tops, flip-flops, or casual sneakers (like Vans and All Star), fine chains, and caps with curved brims. Often, the look was improvised, with customized pieces or adaptations to grab attention in videos.

The Passinho dos Maloka gained strength in neighborhood parties and in local clip productions, being much more linked to the nightlife of Recife than to major competitions or cultural projects like in Rio. It maintained a strong connection with the community and the brega-funk scene, functioning as a physical extension of the sound.

Passinho Malado

The Passinho Malado, from Belo Horizonte, has a more romantic and “soft” DNA compared to the others. It was heavily influenced by charme dances — a scene that has always been strong in BH, especially in the Serra neighborhood and communities in the metropolitan area. This influence brought more elegant, slow-paced movements to the mineiro passinho, focusing on interpreting the music with the body, not just the energy.

The songs that accompany the Passinho Malado generally have beats inspired by charme, R&B, and soul, but adapted to the reality of mineiro funk. This creates a more melodic and less “explosive” atmosphere, which differentiates it from other passinho styles. Visually, those who danced Passinho Malado emphasized the “charmeiro” style: polo or button-up shirts, fitted jeans, impeccable white shoes or sneakers, discreet caps, and silver chains. The look was not just for dancing, but to convey a certain refinement, typical of charme parties.

Although less media-oriented than the Passinho do Romano or the carioca passinho, the Passinho Malado has become part of the identity of parties in BH, especially in the neighborhoods where charme and funk meet. It represents more of a “dance experience” than a dance challenge.

Despite the differences, all these styles share the same root: the protagonism of peripheral youth and the direct relationship between music and movement. In each region, the predominant sound — whether carioca funk, hip hop, brega-funk, or charme — shaped not only the rhythm of the steps but also the visual, energy, and the way dance incorporated itself into daily life. This dialogue between sound and body made the Passinho, in its various forms, a cultural phenomenon that translates the singularities of each territory without losing its collective essence.

From book to heritage

The cultural impact of the Passinho also reached literature. The book De Passinho em Passinho, by Otávio Júnior, the “bookman of Alemão,” won the Jabuti Award in 2020 in the children’s category, celebrating the art of peripheral youth.

Institutional recognition first came in 2018, with the law that declared it Intangible Cultural Heritage of the city of Rio. In 2024, the title was expanded to the entire state, reinforcing its role as a legitimate expression of Brazilian culture and a tool for valuing the favelas.

Legacy

Currently, the passinho remains alive on the streets, on social media, and on stage. The passinho nourishes itself in the periphery and continues to be reinvented. Thus, we see that the dance style born in the communities and spread through digital platforms has conquered and continues to conquer diverse spaces, from the streets to cultural institutions, and remains recognized nationally and internationally.