A calendar for fall quarter!

Mark your calendars!

Mestre Silvinho is planning to come train with us on the weekend of October 13th and 14th. Workshops will start at 4pm on Saturday in the Fairhaven Commons Lounge at Fairhaven College, on the south end of WWU's campus. On Sunday, workshops will start at 9:30 am.
Mestre will be back on the weekend of november 16th to the 18th. He will also come to Bellingham on tuesday, november 6th to give a guest lecture in WWU's "movement and culture" class.

Criss, one of M. Silvinho's students will join us for our Monday practices on Oct. 15th, Nov 4th and Dec 3rd.

Also, Sunday Dec. 2nd is the tentative date for FICA Northwest's annual gathering at the studio in Seattle, with the presence of Mestre Jurandir!

Vamos vadiar n'angola, n'angola vamos vadiar...

Welcome back!

We are happy to start training again with the start of the school year at WWU! Our regular practices will start again on Monday Octobet 1st. We will always train on Mondays from 5:30 to 7:30 in the Fairhaven Commons Lounge at Fairhaven College, on the south side of the WWU campus. Practices are free and open to the public. Bring comfortable shoes and pants you feel comfortable moving in- and be prepared to be upside down! Also, mark Nov 4th on your calendar: the second annual FICA Northwest gathering will be held in Seattle!

a summer of capoeira

WWU is out of school, but some of us are still in town (with some coming and going) and we will continue to train, play music, and take capoeira road trips to seattle and vancouver.

email us at capoeirawwu[at]yahoo.com if you're interested in joining us, but be patient, as we might not check it so often.

vamos vadiar n'angola, n'angola vamos vadiar!

A Great Festival!

So many people who came to train and play with us... can you recognize them all?

 Molly (FICA - Bellingham) and Casimira (FICA PDX) share a nice game. Mestre Silvinho on Gunga, ContraMestre Andrea on Medio, Leika on Atabaque, and Wade (from the Lummi Youth Academy) on pandeiro!

An interview with Mestre Cobra Mansa

Mestre Cobra Mansa is the founder of FICA, and a great, wise elder. This is a great video with a little bit of his history, and his current project Kilombo Tenode.

3rd Afro-Brasilian Festival!

The third annual Afro-Brasilian Festival, organized by the WWU
capoeira club/Bellingham study group of the international capoeira
foundation will be held on Sunday June 3rd in WWU's Carver Gym.

Below is the schedule:

10am opening/ registration/ capoeira angola workshop with ContraMestre
Andrea from Oakland (from FICA: an amazing woman capoeirista)

11:15am to 12:15pm  brasilian dance with lisette austin

12:30 to 1:30pm  west-african dance with manimou camara

1:45 to 3pm capoeira angola workshop with contramestre andrea

3pm capoeira angola roda

at 4pm there will be a catered Brasilian dinner in VU 565.

The event is FREE for WWU students; $5 for the general public.

At Vaudevillingham

Here are some pictures of our brief participation at Vaudevillingham, the monthly fundraiser for the Bellingham Circus Guild.

Thank you to everyone who came: Shelly, Randy, Chris, Elli, Ethan, Matteo, Devin, Skya, Nick, Cedar, Sarah, Molly and Cory!

And thank you to the Circus Guild for putting on such an awesome and record-breaking event! (look it up...)

What is a roda?

I found and translated this from the website of FICA-Salvador:

Played in a circle, Capoeira Angola is infinitely varied with unlimited combinations of movements that involve legs, arms, head, feet in the air, a smile and a spark in the player’s eyes. The game is completed by humor, grace, agility, and seriousness.

It is in the roda that the ritualistic aspects of capoeira angola are most represented. In training, the intention is to prepare the student physically so that they may put things into practice in the roda. Therefore, practice consists of trying the movements and the attacks that are used in the game, progressively introducing more complex movements, whose execution requires specific abilities (such as acrobatic moves, for example). Students acquire this muscle memory through repetition, with the goal of attaining an increasingly smooth execution, in the measure in which the student develops strength and equilibrium. Even when it is accompanied by music and singing, training is different from the roda because the goal will not be met during practice.

Training, only training, is not enough to be a capoeirista. The most important moment in becoming a capoeirista is the roda, and so it is imperative that students participate in rodas, even if only as spectators, even though they may not know how to play, how to sing, how to play the instruments. In this sense, practice sessions, music sessions, or occasional theoretical discussions about aspects of capoeira represent the path that lead to the roda, which is the most important event in the daily existence of the group, and the necessary condition for the existence of capoeira.

Students learn Brazilian martial art

The Western Front published another article about us, this time under the sports section, not under features.

What Capoeira means to us

I found (and slightly paraphrased the English version of) a beautiful description of what Capoeira Angola is all about on the website of Grupo Nzinga.

 - - - - - -

Capoeira Angola is an expression of the Afro-brazilian tradition based on exercises of group (co)existence. Its practice represents the bringing together of different cultural events that include dance, music, dramatization, play, game and spirituality.

In its ritual everyone participates and each person is fundamental and unique.

To play Capoeira Angola, the 'capoeiristas' make a circle representing the world with elements of order and mutual support: the instruments, the music, the songs, the foundations and ethics of the game.

In the space of the circle there is a dramatized fight that transforms potentially powerful blows into gestures that are contained exactly in the moment of touching the opponent. The individual's movements in this warrior-dance are strongly related to the movements of the other 'capoerista' in the game, in reflexive processes that enhances self-esteem and seeks to end stigmas.

Playing Capoeira Angola is a process of raising one's self-awareness; it is not limited to the physical activity and it seeks to restructure the individual starting from these collective experiences.

Thus, when practicing Capoeira Angola we intend to interact individually and collectively with the world, by participating in its social-cultural dynamics. So, in the education of the 'capoeirista', debate and reflection are as important as the physical training and playing.

Happenings!

Here's a picture of our final roda after training in Vancouver: Cheryn looks ready to go! On the viola is Yui (not sure about the spelling) from FICA - Tokio!

And here is a picture and video from our performance at the LSU heritage dinner:

Ie, vamos embora camara'!

March and Beyond - Updated March 13th!

the end of the quarter has arrived at WWU, and we just want to let you know about our upcoming plans!
Our regular practices continue to be on Mondays from 5:30 to 7:30 in the MPR at WWU, and we will continue to meet there in Spring quarter. We WILL meet there to have class on Monday the 12th (the Monday of Finals week) but not the 19th and likely not on the 26th, because WWU will be closed. We still plan to train, just be in touch about the location.

-Saturday March 17th: We'll go to train in Vancouver! we're carpooling, leaving at 8am and returning in the late afternoon.

Our friends in Vancouver are planning a special schedule this Saturday:
12 - 12:45pm: music
12:45 - 2:15pm: movement
2:15 - 3:15pm: roda

A potluck will follow, we can either stay in the room or migrate to space with daylight (or even outside at the beach if it's nice out) you guys don't need to bring anything, but we hope you have time to join us!

-Sunday, March 18th: we'll find a place to practice music at 12:30, location TBD (the old foundry?)

ALSO (NEW! from Mestre Silvinho): Hello friends and capoeiristas,

I would like to invite you to come this Sunday, march 18, my mom's birthday. She just arrived from brasil last week and she is going to be 74 years old this weekend. With a great pleasure I would like to share this moment with all of you. Here is the schedule:

SUNDAY, MARCH 18: CAPOEIRA ANGOLA RODA - 4 TO 6PM
                               POTLUCK AND BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION - 6PM
WHERE:

UNION CULTURAL CENTER
803 south king st/ international district
seattle, wa

-Monday March 19th: regular practice at 5:30, location TBD. (Randy's house?)

-Sunday March 25th: We'll go to train with FICA Seattle - Mestre Jurandir will be there!!! their practice is from 4 to 6pm.

-Monday March 26th ("first day" at WWU): NO practice in the MPR. dinner potluck at Randy's? learn music?

-March 28 (Wed) 4pm @ VU MPR: Auditions for culture night (???)

-March 30 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm @ St. Luke’s Comm. Health Ed. Ctr, 3333 Squalicum Pkwy, B'ham: Cesar Chavez dinner

-Monday April 3rd: Regular practice in MPR resumes, 5:30 to 7:30.
-April 7th/8th (Sat/Sun): Lummi Youth in Seattle; FICA Bell. trains @ FICA Seattle (4 to 6pm)

-April 12th: WWU Culture night

-April 20th (Friday): WWU Latino Student Union dinner/performance
-April 21st: Mestre Silvinho in Vancouver
-April 22nd: Mestre Silvinho in Bellingham

-May 8th: Workshop for Lummi Cedar Project

-May 15th: Perform at Vaudevillingham?

-May 26th/27th/28th (Memorial Day wknd): Folklife festival in seattle!

-June 3rd: Afro-Brasilian Festival in Bellingham!
ALSO: we started planning for the Afro-Brasilian festival. we are hoping to get the MPR or Sunday June 3rd. Katrina has graciously accepted to help Sarah with the planning/logistics.bureaucracy, but we need more help! please let us know if you are willing/able to take on some tasks for this great event, and possibly join the leadership of the group next year.

Winter quarter

We are again meeting on Mondays from 5:30 to 7:30 in the MultiPurpose Room of the Viking Union.

Mestre Silvinho will join us to train on Sunday, February 19th. We will start with a music class at 12:30pm, location TBD.

Also, here's a message from Skya:

Hello Capoeistras ~

     I am learning a new technique of massage and need a lot of bodies to practice on.  The new style is Manual Ligament Therapy (MLT), which is based on cutting-edge research that it is LIGAMENTS, not muscles, that communicate with the nervous system to determine how much tone a muscle holds.  The ligaments are so sensitive that they are easily damaged, and can get "stuck" in  a holding pattern long after an injury has healed, especially since they do not get as much oxygen nor nutrients as other soft tissues.  

     MLT is a gentle pressure on the ligaments, which "resets" the connection between muscle and brain.  This is done in various positions, and so you need to wear loose clothing that can move easily.  I am offering an hour of MLT focusing on my current lessons for $25 -- from now until Feb. 17, the focus is front and back of legs and feet.  To make an appointment, please call (360) 383-2287.  Thank you for helping out!

     Blessings, Skya Fisher, LMP

Some articles about us

Just though i'd post links to some old press reports about our club:

April 12 2011: Capoeira Club communicates with dance

May 20th 2010: Diversity Through Dance

May 17th 2010: Afro-Brasilian Festival

May 11th 2009: Capoeira Workshop

April 28th 2008: Hand claps and swinging legs

April 17th 2008: Dinner to raise money for Latino students