Capoeria Research Paper

All across the world there are dances for everything from weddings to war preparation to child birth; dance is an important aspect of many cultures, traditions and societies. My life has been influenced by a number of dance forms. One dance type I feel very passionate about dicussing and practicing is Capoeria. Capoeria is a dance that form I was introduced to when I was around 7 years old by the local Boys & Girls Club and as I began to get older and do my own research on its origin and significance I’ve felt drawn to capoeria entirely. I’ve practiced Capoeria with a professional company and has even been apart of performances growing up. One thing about Capoeria that has me hooked is the constant energy and big expressive dance moves. Being very different from any other dance form I’ve practiced or learned about before; Capoeria incorporates elements of martial arts, acrobats, dance and music. Capoeria was created during the 16th Century by enslaved Africans brought to Brazil. It is a mixture of different African cultures but through research I’ve found that it was mainly the African Angola culture whose had the biggest influence in its orgin. Nearly 500 years ago Capoeria was mainly practiced by enslaved African people, but today it is widely recognized and practiced by …show more content…
Being that Capoeria is a Brazilian form of martial arts, it’s main purpose was to build resistance and rebell against slavery. I also believe that Capoeria can also fit inside the social: communal category because it was and still is a dance/ gathhering that brings a community together for a purpose, there are no age, gender or class limitations. Based on my personal experience and what I’ve learned so far about social dances in this class I believe Caoperia is best described as a social war dance because of its origin and history but today as a social communal dance because I see communal togatherness rather than war