Artes do Brasil/Sina de Capoeira

Sina de Capoeira, a subsidiary of Artes do Brasil, is a Durham-based non-profit that promotes the art and traditions of Brazil while creating community. Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art and game that includes elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality. Sina de Capoeira offers classes for adults and children of all physical fitness levels, body shapes and abilities. Sina de Capoeira also offers workshops and performances for groups and events. Sina de Capoeira is a CAPS artist (Creative Arts in Public and Private Schools), performing in schools across North Carolina.

Capoeira dates back nearly 400 years and is rooted in rich African traditions brought to Brazil by enslaved Africans. This art form arose from the pressures of colonialism and oppression. Slaves disguised these trained martial movements as dance and expressed them in a roda, the Brazilian-Portuguese word meaning circle. This movement or ‘game’ is played between two capoeiristas and is a fluid series of agile and acrobatic martial art movements linked together to form a unique conversation. An orchestra of berimbaus (stringed instrument amplified by a hallowed-out gourd), atabaque (drum), pandeiro (tambourine), clapping and Brazilian Portuguese songs provide energy to those playing inside the roda.