Forró Roots vs. Forró Universitário: Similarities and Differences
Updated: 5 days ago
If you've been exploring the world of forró, you've probably come across the terms Forró Roots and Forró Universitário. But what exactly is the difference between them?
In short: Forró Universitário ranges from simple, intimate, close-embrace dancing to elaborate sequences of spins and arm patterns, often featuring a smooth, fluid, and flowing body language. Forró Roots tends to emphasize footwork, walking patterns, and inverted turns (also known as Giro Paulista), sometimes featuring a more contained, angular, or slightly bouncy body language. Both styles share many movements and forms of partner connection, and their boundaries are fluid rather than strictly defined.
But the answer is not as straightforward as it might seem.
Forró is a living social dance, constantly evolving through the people who practice it. Styles are not fixed sets of rules, and even dancers who identify with the same style can look remarkably different. Sometimes, the differences between two dancers associated with Forró Universitário, or between two Roots dancers, can be just as significant as those between dancers from different styles.
Yet these names are not meaningless.
Both approaches have their own histories, influences, movement repertoires, and recognizable tendencies in body language. You might think of them as different accents within a shared dance language.
Understanding these characteristics helps us recognize how each style developed, while also appreciating how naturally they overlap on the dance floor.
What Do Forró Roots and Forró Universitário Have in Common?
Both styles share a foundation connected to traditional forró, particularly the dance practices associated with forró pé de serra.
They use similar rhythmic structures, including the familiar three-step pattern with a pause, and both explore partner connection, musical interpretation, and movement through space.
More importantly, they are not completely separate traditions.
Forró Universitário developed through the expansion of forró into urban environments, particularly from the 1990s onward, incorporating new movements, influences, and approaches to partner dancing.
What we now call Forró Roots emerged more recently, partly through experimentation within communities where Universitário and other ways of dancing forró were already practiced.
Both styles continue to influence one another, and many contemporary dancers combine elements from each.
What Are the Main Differences Between Forró Roots and Forró Universitário?
Although there is considerable overlap, certain movement patterns and stylistic tendencies have become more strongly associated with each approach.
Forró Universitário: Spins, Combinations, and Movement Flow
Forró Universitário developed an extensive repertoire of spins, position changes, and combinations, including elaborate arm patterns and, in some schools, sequences involving five, seven, or more steps.
Some approaches emphasize lightness, elasticity, and flowing transitions, with followers occasionally incorporating decorative arm movements during spins.
However, these characteristics are not universal. Many Universitário dancers favor simpler movements, a more grounded body language, or extended periods of dancing in a close embrace.
The style includes a wide variety of approaches, from relatively simple social dancing to highly elaborate combinations.
The following videos illustrate different expressions of Forró Universitário, from fluid improvisation and elaborate turns to intimate, close-embrace dancing. Together, they highlight the diversity of movement and musical interpretation found within the same tradition.
Forró Roots: Footwork, Leg Movements, and Characteristic Turns
Forró Roots became particularly associated with walking patterns, footwork, sacadas, and inverted turns, commonly known as Giro Paulista, alongside other characteristic movement patterns.
Many approaches favor more conventional stepping structures rather than extended multi-step turn combinations. The arms often remain more contained, while the lower body plays a prominent role in creating movement and rhythmic expression.
Roots is also frequently associated with a grounded movement quality and an adaptable embrace that accommodates different angles, distances, and forms of connection.
But these are tendencies, not requirements. Roots dancers also use open positions, elaborate turns, fluid movements, and different forms of body expression.
These examples showcase different approaches associated with Forró Roots, including characteristic turns, sacadas, walking patterns, and changes in partner connection. They also reveal how individual dancers bring their own interpretations and influences to the style.
The Difference Is in the Vocabulary, Not a Fixed Set of Rules
As these examples illustrate, both styles include spins, open and closed positions, traveling movements, and different forms of partner connection. What changes is how individual dancers combine these elements, and which movement patterns have become more closely associated with each tradition.
These characteristics help us recognize certain traditions, but they do not determine how every individual dancer will move.
Open vs. Closed Position: Is That Really the Difference?
A common misconception is that Forró Universitário is danced in open position while Forró Roots is danced in closed position.
In reality, both styles make extensive use of open and closed positions. Some dancers favor elaborate combinations in open position, while others spend much of their dance in a close embrace, regardless of the style they identify with.
The difference lies less in how much time dancers spend in each position and more in the movement vocabulary and stylistic choices they develop within them.
How Are Forró Roots and Forró Universitário Historically Connected?
The relationship between these styles is particularly interesting because their histories overlap.
Forró Universitário became strongly associated with the expansion of forró in Southeast Brazil, particularly in São Paulo and other urban centers during the 1990s and 2000s.
This movement helped develop a broader repertoire of dance movements while bringing forró into new social environments, dance schools, and festivals.
Over time, some dancers began experimenting with different approaches, incorporating more walking patterns, close-position movements, footwork, and new forms of body connection.
These experiments, alongside influences from different communities and festivals, contributed to the development of what eventually became known as Forró Roots.
The scenes associated with Itaúnas, the Rootstock Forró Festival, and other gatherings played important roles in the circulation and development of these approaches.
However, it would be inaccurate to attribute the creation of Roots to a single person, festival, or location.
Like other social dance styles, it developed collectively through experimentation, exchanges, and the gradual transformation of movement ideas.
And despite its name, Forró Roots is not necessarily an older or more traditional way of dancing forró. It is a relatively recent approach with its own contemporary movement vocabulary.
For a deeper exploration of this history, read What Is Forró Roots? History, Characteristics, and Dance Examples.
Different Styles, Shared Dance Floors
This is where the distinction between styles becomes particularly interesting.
When we describe Forró Universitário or Forró Roots, we are often talking about movement traditions, teaching approaches, and recognizable stylistic tendencies.
But what happens on the dance floor is much less predictable.
You may see someone associated with Forró Universitário spend an entire dance in close position, using only a few basic steps. At the same party, a Roots dancer might perform an elaborate sequence of turns and position changes.
Two dancers who identify with the same style may look completely different, while dancers from different backgrounds may share remarkably similar ways of moving.
And many dancers do not identify exclusively with either approach.
As they attend festivals, take classes with different teachers, and exchange experiences on the dance floor, they gradually incorporate elements from different traditions into their own movement vocabulary.
The result is a constantly evolving dance language in which influences circulate, overlap, and take on new meanings.
In this sense, the boundaries between styles are not always lines separating one way of dancing from another. They can also be understood as points of connection between different histories and influences.
Is Forró Universitário a Musical Genre or a Dance Style?
This is an important distinction.
The term Forró Universitário originally refers to a broader cultural movement, involving transformations in music, dance, audiences, and social environments.
It became associated with the expansion of forró among younger urban audiences, particularly those connected to university communities.
In music, this movement maintained a strong relationship with traditional forró while incorporating different instruments, influences, and arrangements.
In dance, it became associated with an expanding repertoire of spins, combinations, and movement possibilities.
The term Forró Roots, on the other hand, is primarily used to identify a more recent dance style and the cultural scene associated with it.
There is no separate musical genre called Forró Roots. Dancers associated with this style may favor certain traditional recordings, rhythmic characteristics, or musical tempos, but the same music can be used to dance different styles of forró.
To explore these distinctions further, see:
Which Style Should You Learn?
There is no single correct answer.
Forró Universitário often has a lower barrier to entry, allowing beginners to participate socially with a relatively small movement vocabulary. Many of its basic movements are also more forgiving of technical imprecision.
In Forró Roots, certain walking patterns, turns, and close-position movements require more precise weight transfers, body coordination, and partner connection to work effectively. This can make some of its characteristic movements more challenging for beginners.
However, this does not mean that Forró Universitário is technically less demanding. Achieving comfort, fluidity, precision, and refined movement in either style requires considerable technical development. The difference is often in the level of precision needed to execute certain basic movements, not in the level of mastery each style can ultimately demand.
Regardless of the style you prefer, developing strong foundations, rhythmic awareness, partner connection, and body coordination will help you become a more versatile and confident dancer.
In practice, many dancers incorporate elements from both approaches, developing personal ways of dancing that do not fit neatly into a single category.
That is also how I approach my own dancing and teaching at Forró New York. My foundation comes from the Pé-de-Serra/Universitário traditions I learned in the countryside of São Paulo during the 2000s, while my movement vocabulary has continued to evolve through exchanges with dancers and teachers from different backgrounds, including Roots.
Ultimately, understanding these styles is less about choosing one over the other and more about appreciating the diversity of movement, musicality, and connection within forró.
Explore More About Forró Styles
If you'd like to go beyond this comparison, these three articles explore each subject in greater detail:
Explore the history of the movement, its musical transformations, cultural context, and relationship with traditional forró.
Understand the movement vocabulary, spins, partner connection, body dynamics, and different approaches that developed within this style.
Discover the emergence of Roots, its technical characteristics, the influence of different communities, and the ongoing discussions surrounding its identity.
Take Your Next Step with Forró New York
Whether you're looking to start dancing, connect with the local community, or deepen your understanding of forró, there are many ways to explore and learn with us.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rafael Piccolotto de Lima is the Founder and Educational Director of Forró New York, as well as a Latin Grammy-nominated composer, arranger, and music director.
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