From the agencies. Facebook Twitter Pinterest. Hahn-Chaplin performs during a rehearsal. All foreign applicants have to pass an exam to join this advanced-level course and train alongside Brazilians who have danced samba since childhood. Natasha Kovalenko from Russia prepares for a street rehearsal. The school has been a cradle of carnival culture for people of the working-class favela near downtown Rio de Janeiro for more than 60 years.