Capoeira? What? The word itself seems to intimidate many (tip: simply sound out each syllable, cap87o87ei87ra). Yet there's no better introduction to what the word truly means than through one of Hopkins' lesser-known yet exciting groups.
Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art first developed by the slaves in Brazil more than 400 years ago as a way to fight back against the colonists. Its movements strongly resembled a dance to disguise the fact that it was a martial art from their masters.
Today, capoeira is practiced all over the world. Similar to other martial arts, there are capoeira academies. And while there are not any competitions per se, during ceremonies called batizado (a "baptism"), a capoeirista is awarded a colored cord belt to signify his or her level. Capoeira comes in two main styles: Angola and Regional (pronounced 'heh-jeeh-oh-nahl').
Capoeira Angola tends to be slower and ritualistic, the one that most resembles an art and dance form of the two. Meanwhile, Capoeira Regional incorporates more upbeat acrobatic movements and is more of a martial art.
Gillian Goldman, a Hopkins graduate, brought capoeira to JHU several years ago during her senior year and began teaching classes. After Goldman graduated, two of her former students, Tom McBride and Felipe Duarte, started the student group on campus.
Now, the capoeira club includes a variety of members, including undergraduates, graduates and people from the surrounding community as well. Classes are held throughout the week at both the Recreation Center and the Mattin Center Dance Studio and are offered for beginners and more advanced capoeiristas.
In addition to these classes on campus, many members are also a part of Mestre Curisco Capoeira, a capoeira academy in Washington, D.C. On Sundays, members go to D.C. together to train and attend batizado ceremonies. In addition, instructors from the academy come twice a week to campus.
A typical open practice in the Mattin Center leads off with group stretching. After more stretches, push-ups and crunches, their instructor lead the group with drills. As the hour progressed, the instructor demonstrated more and more complicated routines by adding various kicks to the front and back, cartwheels and other moves that resemble a sort of break-dancing.
Next, everyone stood in a circle (called a roda) and clapped to the beat of accompanying capoeira music to begin a "game." During a game, two capoeiristas fought in the center of the circle, timing their movements and their speed to the music.
While this practice used recorded music, a game would ordinarily use live instruments -- in particular the berimbau, a bow-shaped string-percussion instrument -- to direct the rhythm.
Each member had his or her chance to enter the ring and spar; as one capoeirista moved to enter the game, he or she would seamlessly take the place of the someone already fighting in the center. It was during the game, especially between two skilled capoeiristas, that the fluidity and the dance-like element of this martial art became apparent.
Tom McBride, the president of the JHU Capoeira group and one of its founding members, expressed his enthusiasm for capoeira: "Capoeira brings balance to my life. It started off as a fun way to work out, but has transformed into a medium for self-expression and self-discovery. Today, I can't imagine my life without capoeira -- it has been exciting to see it grow on the Hopkins campus and within the Baltimore community."
For Netta Gurari, a graduate student at JHU, these capoeira classes help her to de-stress: "I always know that no matter how bad or stressful of a day I have, I will have several hours of fun at the class and will be refreshed and motivated once again."
Noelani Gonzalez, a sophomore, has wanted to take capoeira since she was very little and took the opportunity when she came to Hopkins last year. She says, "It is a really good group; we're all friends and you form strong friendships. Everybody helps each other. And it's a good exercise!"
Classes are held on Tuesdays at 6:30 to 8 p.m. and 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.; Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m.; Thursdays from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., and Saturdays from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m..
Come watch the group perform either during the Closing Ceremonies of Latino Heritage Month on Oct. 29 in the Glass Pavilion or during Culturefest on Nov. 12. For even more information, go to the group's website at http://www.jhu.edu/~capoeira.
