Capoeira

Capoeira is a game of skill & dexterity in which players use trickery to outwit each other.  It fluidly combines fighting, dancing, music, acrobatics & tactical game play.  It is the national sport of Brazil & is almost as popular as the religion – football!  It is intimately connected with the history of Brazil going back over 500 years to Africa.

In the 1930’s two Capoeira Masters in Salvador began to bring Capoeira into respectable circles. These two great men were Mestre Pastinha ,the father of the modern-day Angola style and Mestre Bimba, the father of the contemporary Capoeira Regional. They showed the nation in highly publicized events and challenges to fighters of other martial art styles, that Capoeira was a valid cultural practice and disciplined and effective martial art. President Getulio Vargas gave Capoeira his blessing and called it the only national and indigenous sport of Brazil. It wasn’t until 1962 that it was formally legalized to be practiced in Academies under strict control of the Police and state.

Over the second half of the twentieth century Capoeira exploded in Brazil and further to practically every country in the world. It is now seen played in parks and streets, schools and academies, in music videos and on Youtube. You too can be part of this fun, energetic game and spread it into the 21st century!

For more information contact Dance 8
07834 402953
dance.8@live.com