<P> As the parade is taking place in the Sambadrome and the balls are being held in the Copacabana Palace and beach, many carnival participants are at other locations . Street festivals are very common during carnival and are highly populated by the locals . Elegance and extravagance are usually left behind, but music and dancing are still extremely common . Anyone is allowed to participate in the street festivals . Bandas and blocos are very familiar with the street carnival especially because it takes nothing to join in on the fun except to jump in . One of the most well known bandas of Rio is Banda de Ipanema . Banda de Ipanema was first created in 1965 and is known as Rio's most irreverent street band . </P> <P> Incorporated into every aspect of the Rio carnival are dancing and music . The most famous dance is carnival samba, a Brazilian dance with African influences . The samba remains a popular dance not only in carnival but in the ghettos outside of the main cities . These villages keep alive the historical aspect of the dance without the influence of the western cultures . </P> <P> Music is another major part of all aspects of the carnival . As stated by Samba City, "Samba Carnival Instruments are an important part of Brazil and the Rio de Janeiro carnival, sending out the irresistible beats and rhythms making the crowd explode in a colourful dance revolution fantasy fest!" The samba that is found in Rio is battucanada, referring to the dance and music being based on percussion instruments . It "is born of a rhythmic necessity that it allows you to sing, to dance, and to parade at the same time ." This is why the batucada style is found in most all of Rio's street carnivals . </P> <P> Street parades, blocos, and bandas take place throughout the city of Rio during Carnival, the most famous and largest carnival celebration of the world . There can be more than 300 bandas taking place at any given point in time . While the biggest street party takes place right outside the Sambadrome, the largest organized street dance is typically found on Cinelândia Square in Rio's Centro . In 2012, more than 2 million revelers took to the streets of Rio de Janeiro to participate in the Cordão da Bola Preta bloco . According to police estimates, more than 5 million people attended a bloco during Rio Carnival 2012 and there was not one reported incident of crime . </P>

What kind of music is played in rio carnaval