Bossa Nova.. as Jonathan said, the music is still around, but a short lived popularity from a dance perspective.

Most of the studios put together a " step " list of 10 variations, and yes, the basic is similar to samba, except, its danced in closed position ( like Kizomba ).It has strong similarities to the current club style of Bachata , which also uses a compact type of whisk .The Hip action is much more pronounced in B.Nova .

Most dances that are in closed position, are very intrusive for beginners ( B/room not so much )hence their survival rate is often short lived , or, go to an underground situation.

And, I dont know of any opportunities dance wise.

Bossa Nova wasn't replaced by Samba. As a music form, it's alive and well. It just so happens that it never caught on in ballroom circles. There may very well be a dance -- perhaps not officially -- but certainly the people of Brazil (and elsewhere) do something when Bossa music is playing. It is most likely a toned-down, mellower version of Samba.

We have plans to feature a dance called Bossa Nova on BallroomDancers.com sometime in the, let's say, "intermediate" future... After full silver demo videos and full bronze teaching videos are finished. Those familiar with Nightclub Two-Step will recognize it as a cross between that and Samba. (Call it "Nightclub Samba"). It will be a spot dance, using the Whisk (see Samba fig #2A) as the basic pattern, to the counts 1, a2, 1, a2, with a toned-down bounce action.

Regards,
Jonathan Atkinson
www.ballroomdancers.com