The School's Presentation
Discover the history and transformation of the front commission in the parades.
Front Commission
The front commission is one of the oldest sections of samba schools. Its role is to officially open the parade, greet the audience and judges, present the school, and introduce the theme. Before the wings, costumes, and floats, it is the front commission that establishes the first meeting between the school and the Avenida.
Its origin is tied to the carnival ranchos and popular parades of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In them, small groups marched in front, clearing the way for components and introducing the group. In the early decades of samba schools, the commissions were composed mainly of men dressed in tailcoats, top hats, and walking sticks, in a presentation marked by elegance, greeting, and reverence.
The first officially recognized front commission in Carioca Carnival is usually attributed to Portela, in 1935. A few years later, starting in 1938, the category became part of the parade judging. During this period, commissions still had an essentially ceremonial character. They were composed of older men and respected community figures who paraded with simple, solemn movements. There were not yet major choreographies, professional dancers, or complex set design elements.
The transformation gained momentum between the 1950s and 1960s, when Carnival began to incorporate new references from the performing arts. Theater, dance, and musicals began influencing costumes, movements, and presentation styles. The innovations introduced by figures like Fernando Pamplona and Arlindo Rodrigues at Salgueiro also helped align the front commission with the theme's narrative. Little by little, it ceased to be just a formal greeting and became part of the story told by the school.
In the following decades, especially from the 1970s and 1980s onward, dancers, actors, and choreographers increasingly took over this space. The opening of the Sambódromo da Marquês de Sapucaí, in 1984, unlocked new possibilities. Choreographies grew in complexity, and over time, mobile sets, illusionism, mechanized structures, high-tech costumes, and other resources emerged, capable of transforming the opening of the parade into a grand theatrical scene.
Choreographers Who Transformed the Avenida
Throughout this journey, different artists helped reinvent the language of front commissions. Carlinhos de Jesus brought his experience with dance, theatricality, and body expression to works across various schools. Ana Botafogo brought classical dance closer to the universe of Carnival. Jorge Teixeira and Saulo Finelon developed landmark works in schools such as Mocidade, Grande Rio, and Beija-Flor.
Priscilla Mota and Rodrigo Negri built a career marked by theatricality, visual impact, and the use of scenic elements, working with schools such as Mangueira, Grande Rio, and Unidos da Tijuca. At Tijuca, they participated in a historic moment in 2010, with the parade É Segredo!. Patrick Carvalho also became a benchmark in the section, with works at Paraíso do Tuiuti, Vila Isabel, Salgueiro, and Imperatriz. In 2018, his commission for Tuiuti became one of the most iconic images of that Carnival.
Fábio de Mello
Among the key figures of this transformation is Fábio de Mello, who profoundly impacted front commissions starting in the 1990s. His partnership with Rosa Magalhães at Imperatriz Leopoldinense helped build a recognizable choreographic language based on precision, floor movements, advances down the runway, and geometric formations, including striking triangular compositions.
His work became a reference for generations of choreographers and for the history of the category itself. After his death, in 2025, this trajectory received a special tribute during the 2026 Carnival: in Salgueiro's parade dedicated to Rosa Magalhães, a wing remembered the partnership between the two and Fábio de Mello's contribution to the language of front commissions.