2008 Woodie Awards
Brazilian Capoeira kicks ass on Mills Lawn
Amanda Drum
Issue date: 9/26/08 Section: Life & Times
Many Mills Lawn passerbies on Friday night, Sept. 19, stopped to watch and listen to the chanting, singing and music of the RODA event that began at 9:00. This first RODA of the year was conducted by the Capoeira organization at Rollins College, and was a demonstration of the Brazilian martial art.
Student Kelsey Beaumont, who attended the event, said of RODA, "It was pretty great. It's definitely a form of self-expression that I haven't seen before, so that was cool."
When asked what she had expected of the performance, she replied, "Well…I'd heard that it's possible to kick someone's head off in capoeira, so I was honestly expecting someone to get hurt."
It began with members and observers alike forming a circle in front of the Mills Building, clapping and singing along to student lead verses of Brazilian song. Not knowing the language or any of the words - the students not involved with Capoeira quickly learned - was not an excuse to not sing along anyway.
The songs that were sung varied in tempo and tune and were led by instruments that are fundamental of capoeira. The first being the berimbau, a bow with a metal strong attached to a gourd. It's played by striking a rod against it to make a light, dry percussion sound with different notes and pitches. Other instruments included the atabaque and the pandeiro. The atabaque is a large drum that looks like a precursor to the conga, and the pandeiro is the equivalent to a larger tambourine.
The members then began the martial art aspect of the RODA. One by one, they almost tag-teamed each other into the ring of participants, and began a complicated pattern of kicking, cart wheeling, and jumping over each other. The moves could be as simple as dodging a kick, or as difficult as handstands and flips. Regardless of how long each person was in the program, they matched each other in the levels of energy and enthusiasm.
Capoeira began in Brazil, during times of slavery where the Brazilians and Africans were put to work on sugar and tobacco plantations. The three main ports were in Bahia, Recife, and Rio de Janeiro. In Recife, when slave escapes were commonplace, a group of forty slaves rebelled against their master and fled their plantation. To hide they completed a hike to the mountains that took many months. They eventually founded a community called Palmares, because of the region's abundance of palm trees. In this community, Capoeira was developed.
After slavery was abolished in 1888, "Capoeiristas" were seen as a government oppositional force, because their main objective was to disrupt the political life and continue the fight for equality. Because of their activity, a penal code was placed upon practicing Capoeira until 1920. Between then, any practitioners disguised Capoeira with the term 'folk dance', making presentations more accepted by the general public.
Today of course Capoeira is completely legal and regarded as a Brazilian martial art, with some speculated roots in West Africa. It is an intriguing and challenging art form; the general impression is best summarized by Kelsey, who stated, "I think it takes a certain type of person to be able to do the things they do... I wouldn't necessarily consider myself one of those people. But, I think it's pretty awesome that others can."
Student Kelsey Beaumont, who attended the event, said of RODA, "It was pretty great. It's definitely a form of self-expression that I haven't seen before, so that was cool."
When asked what she had expected of the performance, she replied, "Well…I'd heard that it's possible to kick someone's head off in capoeira, so I was honestly expecting someone to get hurt."
It began with members and observers alike forming a circle in front of the Mills Building, clapping and singing along to student lead verses of Brazilian song. Not knowing the language or any of the words - the students not involved with Capoeira quickly learned - was not an excuse to not sing along anyway.
The songs that were sung varied in tempo and tune and were led by instruments that are fundamental of capoeira. The first being the berimbau, a bow with a metal strong attached to a gourd. It's played by striking a rod against it to make a light, dry percussion sound with different notes and pitches. Other instruments included the atabaque and the pandeiro. The atabaque is a large drum that looks like a precursor to the conga, and the pandeiro is the equivalent to a larger tambourine.
The members then began the martial art aspect of the RODA. One by one, they almost tag-teamed each other into the ring of participants, and began a complicated pattern of kicking, cart wheeling, and jumping over each other. The moves could be as simple as dodging a kick, or as difficult as handstands and flips. Regardless of how long each person was in the program, they matched each other in the levels of energy and enthusiasm.
Capoeira began in Brazil, during times of slavery where the Brazilians and Africans were put to work on sugar and tobacco plantations. The three main ports were in Bahia, Recife, and Rio de Janeiro. In Recife, when slave escapes were commonplace, a group of forty slaves rebelled against their master and fled their plantation. To hide they completed a hike to the mountains that took many months. They eventually founded a community called Palmares, because of the region's abundance of palm trees. In this community, Capoeira was developed.
After slavery was abolished in 1888, "Capoeiristas" were seen as a government oppositional force, because their main objective was to disrupt the political life and continue the fight for equality. Because of their activity, a penal code was placed upon practicing Capoeira until 1920. Between then, any practitioners disguised Capoeira with the term 'folk dance', making presentations more accepted by the general public.
Today of course Capoeira is completely legal and regarded as a Brazilian martial art, with some speculated roots in West Africa. It is an intriguing and challenging art form; the general impression is best summarized by Kelsey, who stated, "I think it takes a certain type of person to be able to do the things they do... I wouldn't necessarily consider myself one of those people. But, I think it's pretty awesome that others can."
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