WATCH: Brazilian dance craze created by youths in Rio’s favelas declared cultural heritage

Youth perform a street dance style known as passinho for their social media accounts, in the Rocinha favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. ©AP

It all started with nifty leg movements, strong steps backwards and forwards, paced to Brazilian funk music. Then it adopted moves from break dancing, samba, capoeira, frevo.

The 'passinho', a dance style created in the 2000s by kids in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, was declared an “intangible cultural heritage” by legislators in the state of Rio, bringing recognition to a cultural expression born in the sprawling working-class neighbourhoods.

© Euronews