Capoeira
Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian practice that joins dance, martial art, acrobatics, music and song. It emerged among enslaved Africans in colonial Brazil and remained illegal until 1937. In 2014 UNESCO inscribed the capoeira circle on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Practice takes place in a roda, where two players move in the centre while others sing and play instruments, led by the berimbau, a single-string percussion bow, together with drums. A master guides the circle. Two main traditions are Capoeira Regional, developed by Mestre Bimba in the 1930s, and Capoeira Angola, associated with Mestre Pastinha. It is practised worldwide.
Sources
Organisations connected with this dance
- Fundação Gregório de Mattos (Salvador municipal culture foundation)
- IPHAN (Brazilian National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage)
Listed as references; being listed is not an endorsement by or of the organisation.