The quality of this photo is not representative of the fascinating sport spelled out on her sweatpants. My camera was incapable of catching the lightening-fast kicks and turns achieved by the 8 men and 5 women in the class. Ligia attends a 2 1/2 hour session three times a week. It requires amazing strength, skill and discipline to perfect this hybrid of dance and martial arts. A fairly complete history of Capoeira can be found at this link. But to get the real flavor of the dance element you must watch the movies at this link.
I first witnessed Capoeira in Salvador (Bahia) Brazil in 1992. It is absolutely amazing to watch the participants kick within inches of their partner's nose--at a terrific speed--without touching it. A former guest Joao practiced the slower form, Angola, which is quite dramatic and requires a different type of strength to hold the positions longer. The Regional, pronounced heejenow, is the more rapid type practiced by Ligia and and featured in the training movies. In some of the movies you may see a bow-and-arrow type instrument with a gourd on it which is played with a stick to provide a rhythm for the dance.
Whenever I travel, whether domestic or international, I always try to catch the locals "dancing." There is cultural education in both the steps and the music.
Posted by: Corrina | March 26, 2004 at 07:27 PM