Samba school rehearsals in Rio before Carnival 2027

At a glance

Two ways to see a rehearsal

A samba school gets ready for Carnival at its own hall, the quadra. On a rehearsal night the drum section (bateria) plays, the dancers practise and the community sings the samba for the coming parade. There is no common calendar for these nights: each school announces its dates and entry rules itself, and they change through the season.

In January the schools move to the Sambadrome on the Marquês de Sapucaí for the technical rehearsals (ensaios técnicos) organised by LIESA, the league of the Special Group. Each school runs through its parade on the real avenue, and LIESA uses the nights for the light and sound tests of the Sapucaí. LIESA publishes the entry conditions, and we confirm them for your night.

Technical rehearsals at the Sambadrome: the 2027 calendar

LIESA published the calendar on September 9, 2026. Each date opens with official parades of the children’s schools (escolas mirins), followed by three Special Group schools.

If LIESA changes a date or the order, we update this page and tell any group already booked.

Rehearsals at the school halls

The quadra rehearsals are where you see a school with its own community, in its own neighbourhood, on a regular week night or weekend. Since every school sets its own schedule, the first thing we do with your request is check the official announcements of the school you want, or of the schools rehearsing on your dates. If nothing has been announced yet for your dates, we tell you so and suggest the closest option, such as a January night at the Sambadrome.

Some schools also hold a feijoada with live samba on weekends. We add one to the program when the school announces it for your dates.

From rehearsal to parade night

The Special Group parades on February 7, 8 and 9, 2027, and LIESA has published which schools parade each night. A group that follows one school can watch it at its January technical rehearsal and again on its parade night: Beija-Flor, for example, rehearses on January 23 and parades on February 7. Tickets and seat types for the parades are on our Rio Carnival page, and the Carnival 2027 group program builds a trip around one parade night.

If you want to go further and parade yourself, see how to parade in Rio Carnival.

What we arrange for groups

What we take care of: we pick the rehearsal night with you, check the school’s official schedule and entry rules, book transport there and back, and arrange a guide who speaks your group’s language. The language is confirmed in the proposal.

Rehearsals start in the evening and finish late, so we plan the pick-up time and a meeting point for the return before the night. A rehearsal also fits into a longer program with other evenings from our samba nights for groups. Price on request, proposal within 24 hours. Terms and payment are set out in the proposal; you pay nothing before you confirm.

What to tell us in your request

Write to us through the contact page with:

• your dates in Rio, and whether you want a quadra rehearsal, a Sambadrome night or both;
• the school you want to see, if you have one;
• how many people, and the ages of any children;
• the language your group’s guide should speak;
• where you are staying, so we can plan the transport;
• whether you also want parade tickets on February 7, 8 or 9.