Brazil’s art dance of freedom comes to city

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

Capoeira is thought to be created in Brazil and it features quick and complex moves using mainly power kicks. AA photo

Capoeira, a Brazilian art that combines the elements of martial arts, sports and music, will be introduced in Istanbul during a three-day workshop starting today.

Upon the invitation of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Kültür A.Ş. Performance Arts Center, the world famous capoeira trainer Mestre Baixinho and eight instructors will give workshops at the Tarık Zafer Tunaya Culture Center.

Capoeira experts Napoleao (Emilio De Chiara), Desengoçado, Marcolino, Montanha, Rocco, Alongado, Tittina and Mila will open the program, backed by an instrumental ensemble providing rhythmic music.

Baixinho said their group has performed in various parts of the world and would perform in Turkey for the first time. He said more than 20 people would be trained in capoeira in Istanbul.

“The word ‘capoeira’ means a small area without trees in a big forest,” Baixinho said. The sport was developed in Brazil by African slaves for self-defense, he said, and capoeira was not only a dance or show but also a form of art including war, defense and freedom.

Capoeira is thought to have been created in Brazil in the 16th century. It features quick and complex moves, using mainly power kicks and quick leg sweeps, with ground and aerial acrobatics, knee strikes, take-downs, elbow strikes, punches and head butts.