HISTORY, CULTURE, POLITICS & THE INTERACTION OF MUSIC AND DANCE IN CAPOEIRA ANGOLA
The call to play capoeira comes from the gunga, the deepest of the berimbaus, in the hands of the teacher or mestre of the roda. The first strokes on the steel cord reverberate clear and certain until the rhythm is set, pulling at the muscles and bones of all who play. Patient, relentless, the rhythm is there below the skin, slightly moving the bodies of those who have dedicated the best part of their lives to the game. No one sways, there is no exuberant dance, just the irresistible rhythm which draws them time after time to the foot of the mestre.
(...)
Finally the tone changes. The mestre of the roda sings the first lines of a familiar song, and the entire roda sings back in response. The corridos, songs for the game, signal that the time has come for the testing – this dangerous play of deception, concealment, calm, and happiness. Driven by the rhythm of the music and the energy of the singing, the players slowly begin to probe each other, learn about the movements and mind of the other. They lean onto their hands and move in the roda, holding their weight on their arms. One pivots around on one foot, his other leg outstretched in a rabo d’arraia – the “stingray’s tail” – walking his hands patiently around and swinging his leg purposefully toward his companion. The other player rolls even closer to the ground, accompanying the direction of the kick, the heel passing close, turning over to free his own leg for a counterattack. They weave around each other patiently on the floor.
(...)
Clip from "Let the circle be unbroken" - 2006 (PT/EN)
Perhaps it is also the last, its rhythm always teaching the student able to hear, always revealing new movements, new possibilities. In the music of Capoeira Angola can be heard not only the traces of the game’s movements – spinning, kicking, retreating, attacking – but also the weight and wisdom of all of these years spent in “idleness,” the traditional name for capoeira. The berimbau is calling to this brutal, beautiful dance, this warrior’s game, this long song of playing – smiling – in the face of a ruthless and unmerciful world.
(...)
{Keep Reading Here}
The call to play capoeira comes from the gunga, the deepest of the berimbaus, in the hands of the teacher or mestre of the roda. The first strokes on the steel cord reverberate clear and certain until the rhythm is set, pulling at the muscles and bones of all who play. Patient, relentless, the rhythm is there below the skin, slightly moving the bodies of those who have dedicated the best part of their lives to the game. No one sways, there is no exuberant dance, just the irresistible rhythm which draws them time after time to the foot of the mestre.
(...)
Finally the tone changes. The mestre of the roda sings the first lines of a familiar song, and the entire roda sings back in response. The corridos, songs for the game, signal that the time has come for the testing – this dangerous play of deception, concealment, calm, and happiness. Driven by the rhythm of the music and the energy of the singing, the players slowly begin to probe each other, learn about the movements and mind of the other. They lean onto their hands and move in the roda, holding their weight on their arms. One pivots around on one foot, his other leg outstretched in a rabo d’arraia – the “stingray’s tail” – walking his hands patiently around and swinging his leg purposefully toward his companion. The other player rolls even closer to the ground, accompanying the direction of the kick, the heel passing close, turning over to free his own leg for a counterattack. They weave around each other patiently on the floor.
(...)
Clip from "Let the circle be unbroken" - 2006 (PT/EN)
Perhaps it is also the last, its rhythm always teaching the student able to hear, always revealing new movements, new possibilities. In the music of Capoeira Angola can be heard not only the traces of the game’s movements – spinning, kicking, retreating, attacking – but also the weight and wisdom of all of these years spent in “idleness,” the traditional name for capoeira. The berimbau is calling to this brutal, beautiful dance, this warrior’s game, this long song of playing – smiling – in the face of a ruthless and unmerciful world.
(...)
{Keep Reading Here}
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