The word " Carioca " refers to inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro . Astaire and Roger 's short dance has historical significance , as it was their first screen dance together . Though billed fourth and fifth , many felt they stole the film , which became a big hit for RKO . The song was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 7th Academy Awards , but lost to an even bigger Astaire and Rogers production number , " The Continental " from '' The Gay Divorcee '' ( 1934 ) , their next film together and their first starring vehicle . They were billed by RKO as " The King and Queen of ' The Carioca . ' " While the song has become a jazz standard , the dance did not have longevity . Following the success of '' Flying Down to Rio '' , an attempt was made to propagate it as a new ballroom dance , without much success . It was a mixture of samba , maxixe , foxtrot and rhumba . The distinctive feature of the dance &ndash; at least as portrayed in the movie &ndash; was that it was to be danced with the partners ' foreheads touching
7th Academy Awards
7th Academy Awards
Carioca (song)