How the dance is organized
Before a work begins, uniformed members gather to hear the opening of the despacho (the serving of the Daime), then move to their places in the salão. Men and women form separate lines, arranged by height, with newer or non-baptized participants (não-fardados) and visitors placed toward the back, generally behind the fardados. Fiscais, church members responsible for order and for assigning places within the lines, oversee this arrangement and continue to do so as more people arrive over the course of a work.
Once the lines are formed, the Bailado begins after the opening lines of the first hymn, when the person leading the dance takes the first step to the left. The dance follows three basic rhythms that alternate through a hinário: marcha (a two-step), valsa (a waltz, one-step), and mazurca (a triple-time step), with the overall motion likened by the tradition to the rise and fall of ocean tides.
Origins and meaning within the tradition
The Santo Daime dance descends from the ballroom dancing of the communities where the doctrine took shape, refashioned by Mestre Irineu and his successors into a ritual form specific to the works. Within Santo Daime teaching, the Bailado is described as more than a social or aesthetic practice: it is understood as a shared discipline that helps participants remain grounded and coordinated through the long duration of a work, some of which continue for many hours.
According to the tradition's account, the Rainha da Floresta (Queen of the Forest) instructed that works of this kind could extend across a twelve-hour cycle, mirrored on the rhythm of the tides. This is a matter of religious teaching passed down within the community, rather than a historical or scientific claim.
The space where works are held
Santo Daime churches built for danced works are often hexagonal, with a central hexagonal or star-shaped table holding a Cross of Caravaca, candles representing the sun, moon, stars and divine beings, photographs of the tradition's founders, and fresh flowers. The floor is typically divided into a women's side and a men's side, each further arranged in rows by seniority and by whether a person is fardado, a visitor, or new to the church.
Musicians, generally seated near the men's section, and lead singers, generally seated near the women's, guide the hymns through the night. Members responsible for serving the Daime and maintaining order — the fiscais — work from a serving area on the side of the church opposite the entrance, and remain present throughout the work to support participants and help the group return to and complete the procession.