[Capoeira] Dancing

Discussion in 'Other Styles' started by Kenpo Kicker, Aug 2, 2004.

  1. Kenpo Kicker

    Kenpo Kicker New Member

    I am wondering if Capoeira is good for dancing. I know it was designed to be covered as a dance. I am intrested in learning it and modifying to dance at teh clubs. Has anyone had good feed back doing this? I would rather not dance like everyone else at the club. The guys dance lame.
     
  2. LilBunnyRabbit

    LilBunnyRabbit Old One

    Supposedly its good for rhythm and suchlike, I'm not sure how much use it'd be for dancing in a club though. I can see the bouncers taking an interest in someone performing capoeira moves in a mosh pit.
     
  3. JohnnyX

    JohnnyX Map Addict

    Actually, Capoeira wouldn't have looked out of place in a Northern Soul club here in the UK in the 1970's. - Somewhere like Wigan Casino.

    The dancing consisted of spins, kicks, splits, back-flips and general acrobatics.

    I tried to find an on-line video clip to demonstrate, but was unsuccessful. :(

    Cheers. :)
     
    Last edited: Aug 2, 2004
  4. Kenpo Kicker

    Kenpo Kicker New Member

    Heh, I want to look out of place :) . They dance the same at every club. I would probly do a dance with my boy when everyone gets off the floor or modify it so we can get some basic dancing down.
     
  5. M3inline6

    M3inline6 Valued Member


    No, I wouldn't recommend you do Capoeira in the club. Modification of Capoeira = Breakdancing, so if you want to dance, train to become a breaker. You can still have your individuality without trying to pass Capoeira off as some club-worthy dance movement. Honestly, you'd look pretty silly doing the ginga (or any variation of it) in the club.
     
  6. voodue

    voodue Valued Member

    The sad thing is where I live (NorCal-Bay Area) you would not be out of place! All the breakers and club boys try to do capoeira movements in the clubs. My friends and me used to go clubbing all the time and would laugh at the idiots trying to do capoeira. When they would start trying play capoeira or the ginga then we would step in and give a few Rasteiras.

    My friend entered a couple of BBoy contest using capoeira but never made it out of the 1st round. The contest was setup for capoeira, breakers and club dancers. (Most of the moves used were capoeira moves) My friend’s brother has been in a number of dance videos doing capoeira too! He has also been seen doing capoeira in commercials.

    Personally I never did capoeira in the clubs because capoeira is a martial art for me. I would feel silly doing Tae Kwon Do or Wing Chun in a dance club! Last night my mestre asked us what capoeira means for us individually. Most of the answers were folklore, dance, etc. I was the only one that said, "Combat, martial art and game". I found that very telling because most of my classmates train like they are doing dance, folklore etc. They don't train capoeira for combat or martial art. They have no concept about the power and application of capoeira.

    If you want to do capoeira in the clubs that is your business. I just say make sure you can use it too! We have been at clubs were people have not been happy having my friends jump around. When we were in Russia we got in a fight at one of the clubs. The "main" dancer at the club was jealous because my friends were showing him up. He got in their faces talking **** and a fight broke out. Luck fully the guy we were with "New Russian" came out of nowhere and gave him a Bencao. After that we were careful throughout our Russia trip.

    I have done capoeira in clubs before as a performance and that was cool. We did capoeira presentations in various Russian Clubs during 1999 and 2001. That was sweet because we got all the free beer we wanted and the women were the most beautiful I have ever seen! hahaha
     
  7. Guy Mendiola

    Guy Mendiola New Member

    Yeah, Capoeira may be be a dance/martial art be it's not really for dancing like BBoying or stuff like that and yeah like what M3inline6 and Voodue said, You should get lessons doing Breakdancing instead.
     
  8. Kenpo Kicker

    Kenpo Kicker New Member

    I was thinking of mixing it with break dancing. Break dancing has entered my mind. I think thats the only kind of dancing I would like lol. I saw some ppl dance really wierd so maybe we will fit in, lol.
     
  9. M3inline6

    M3inline6 Valued Member

    Honestly bro, if you're not into Capoeira for Capoeira, then breakdancing will be more rewarding for you. Your goal is to wreck shop on the dance floor. Capoeira is not the way to go. Be a breaker dude!
     
  10. KingRippa

    KingRippa New Member

    Actually, wouldn't that upset the Mestres a little bit? Doing Capoeira just for some cool moves on the dance floor, when it's based on such a more bigger picture? I don' know, but if so those Mestres might start wreckin shop :woo:.
     
  11. Kenpo Kicker

    Kenpo Kicker New Member

    Guess I will take up break dancing then. I thought it would complement break dancing. And ya I would love to tear up the floor and show off :) . I would still like a sample of the art. It looks fun to me.
     
  12. voodue

    voodue Valued Member

    My friend just gave me a video he put together of my friends dancing in the clubs. The video is well put together and he will be selling them soon. Anyway, the whole video is of them battling other crews. All my friends are capoeiristas and they house dance too. I took most of the video and had a great time filming them. If he every gets his site up to sell the video I will let you know. That way you can see how capoeira could be used in the clubs. Again I never did anything because I always felt funny having people watch me do something that was spiritual for me. To each their own I guess!
     
  13. M3inline6

    M3inline6 Valued Member

    I consider it exploitation, but that's just my opinion. People view Capoeira differently. For reasons such as this, it's no wonder that practitioners disregard Capoeira as being "useless and impractical" in a fight situation. All these people try to turn Capoeira into a dance when it is a warrior fight w/ rhythm, and subsequently only aid in Capoeira attracting more detractors. In the end, I guess people will do what people will do. I love Capoeira for what it is, and what it's supposed to be. Others don't love Capoeira. They only want to take portions of it and show off, disregarding all that is comprised within Capoeira. You'd never see a true Capoeirista who loves "the art" in dance clubs doing such things. I might be coming off as prudent, and if so, I apologize. This is just my view. Americans have a way of exploiting everything.
     
  14. voodue

    voodue Valued Member

    Actually during the 1995 encounter in San Francisco my friends took mestre Espirro Mirim and some other mestres out dancing in San Francisco. My friends were house dancing plus doing capoeira movements and Mestre Espirro Mirim joined them on the dance floor. It didn't bother him and a lot of the mestres we've talked to about it. My mestre always tells us to be careful and watchful when doing these things because people sometimes do like it. My mestre's famous quote is "Keep a low profile in strange places". We heard that a lot in Russia but we still drew HUGE crowds wherever we went.

    As much as capoeira is a warrior dance it is also a dance! Capoeira has so many faces that it has something for everyone. The slaves not only used capoeira for war but entertainment too! We (I especially) forget that capoeira is not only a martial art but also a warrior "dance" and social event. When I see people doing capoeira movements in clubs and on videos I remind myself they are not really doing capoeira. To play capoeira you need two people. What I see in the clubs is someone’s interpretation of capoeira. They don't have the essence or malicia of capoeira. They don't have the playfulness and spontaneity of capoeira.

    That is why it is also fun to see my friends dance in the clubs battling other crews because they have all those things found in capoeira. They use them when dancing to have fun and be playful and spontaneous. They keep that malicia while engaging other crews.

    Just like how capoeira has many faces/sides my views on the using capoeira movements in clubs have many faces too! I'm against doing it myself but see the beauty in their movements. I sometimes wish I could do all the things breakers/house dancers can do but know they couldn't handle me in the roda. Club dancing and playing in the roda are too vastly different things. All the breakers who come to our academy find this out real quick after the first sweep/takedown. They learn this especially quick after a bencao.
     
  15. M3inline6

    M3inline6 Valued Member


    You make a very good point, and my interpretation of your post lends insight that you and I pretty much see eye-to-eye.
     
  16. Kenpo Kicker

    Kenpo Kicker New Member

    Well i wanted to use capoeira as dance because i'm a warrior and want to dance like one ;). Not sure what I will do now. My friend said he is moving back to chicago in a couple of months :(. I still like how break dancing looks too though. Also it's not a bad idea to promote yourself and capoeira. I wouldn't go in there and do some newbie capoeira :) . I think the catwoman movie may help out promoting/showing ppl capoeira dunno didn't see it.
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2004
  17. Kosh

    Kosh New Member


    How can you presume to know what Capoeira is supposed to be?

    If it is about self expression, then its different for everyone.
     
  18. M3inline6

    M3inline6 Valued Member

    If you wanted to promote yourself and Capoeira, you perform demos (like most groups already do) for the public, not in a nightclub.


    So you can look me square in the face (figuratively) and tell me that Capoeira was meant to be done in a dance club?????? Come on man. Please get real! The art is so diluted as it is. Doing that only contributes to it being torn down. It takes away from the ritual inherent in the art. If you can't understand the concept, that's fine! Also, I make no statement that takes away the self-expression that is Capoeira (or any artform for that matter), but there is a time and place for everything.
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2004
  19. Kosh

    Kosh New Member

    ok ok, i do see your point.

    its a matter of respect to the art and the practitioners i guess.

    I find it a bit annoying that you can download countless clips called 'capoeira' that have not capoeira in them...just tricks copied from capoeira and stuck in loops. I have no objection to people copying capoeira moves but they shouldnt call themselves capoeiristas. I can do many capoeira moves but im crap at capoeira.

    [rant]i also find f****ing annoying when people(breakdancers) at 'neokarate' competitions do friggin flares...i hate flares, their crap. They are like a capoeira move but in capoeira i imagine they are done in a much more applied and controlled way...which is true of all capoeira moves. They are 'applied' to the game, else they are just not capoeira.[/rant]

    ...and dont get me started on the word 'neokarate'... who the **ll thought that up?
     
  20. M3inline6

    M3inline6 Valued Member

    Neokarate? lol! Who thought that up?

    Kosh, I guess you could say it's a respect issue. Respect the art.........respect the heritage.

    The thing about flares is this, flares aren't really a part of Capoeira. It's a gymnastics movement that was added over time (along w/ the flips). You'll rarely see a Capoeirista do a flare in a roda. Flares are absolutely useless in a fight application. When mestre Marcelo did the motion capture for Eddy Gordo, the flare wasn't one of the movements he did. They hired a gymnast to do that movement. True, in the roda, a flare could be used as a set up (much like meia lua de frente) to draw your opponent in (or push your opponent away) so that you can perform something else, but I'd never use a flare (and I can do them). I side with you though. I get very irritated when somebody who can do Capoeira's fancy movements calls themselves a Capoeirista, or claims to "know" Capoeira, when they have never been in a roda (..and would subsequently get their ass handed to them), can't play berimbau (or has never even held one), and the only song they know is Parana e' .......because of the movie "Only the Strong".
     

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