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Essays about capoeira
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Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art that combines elements from dance, acrobatics and music to form fluid interactions between the Capoeiristas.
Capoeira has a few very distinctive movements that are clearly associated with this fighting style.
The ginga, which is directly translated to: rocking back and forth or to swing, is the most basic and fundamental movement in capoeira. This move is extremely important both for attack and defense purposes. Ginga is used to keep the capoeirista constantly moving as to prevent him or her from being a still and easy target. The other use of ginga is making fakes or feints; this is to mislead the opponent leaving him open for an attack.
The attacks in Capoeira go directly for vital organs or sensitive areas. The Capoeiristas only attack when there is a clear opportunity. Most Capoeira attacks are made with the legs, like direct or swirling kicks, rasteiras (leg sweeps), tesouras or knee strikes. The head strike is a very important counter-attack move and elbow strikes, punches and other forms of takedowns are all frequently used in Capoeira.
The defense is based on the principle of non-resistance, meaning that the capoeirista will avoid the oncoming attack opposed to blocking it. Avoids are called esquivas, which depend on the direction of the attack and intention of the defender, and can be done standing or with a hand leaning on the floor. A block should only be made when the esquiva is not possible. This fighting strategy allows quick and unpredictable counterattacks, the ability to focus on more than one adversary and to face empty-handed an armed adversary.
A series of rolls and acrobatics (like the cartwheel called aú) allows the capoeirista to recover quickly and counter-attack. These ...
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...ury slavery was starting to fade away due to the military refusing to deal with escapees, raids of plantations still exploiting slaves and growth of the Brazillian abolitionist movement; by 1888 Brazil declared slavery against the law.
Capoeira found new applications in this time when criminals and warlords hired capoeiristas as bodyguards and hitmen. In 1890, the recently proclaimed Brazilian Republic decreed the prohibition of capoeira in the whole country. Social conditions were chaotic in the Brazilian capital, and police reports identified capoeira as an advantage in fighting.
After the prohibition, any citizen caught practicing capoeira, in a fight or for any other reason, would be arrested, tortured and often mutilated by the police. Cultural practices, such as the roda de capoeira, were conducted in remote places with sentries to warn of approaching police.
In Samba, Alma Guillermoprieto describes the Carnival celebrated every year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and explores the black cultural roots from which it takes its traditions as well as its social, economic, and political context in the 1980s. From her firsthand experience and investigation into favela life and the role of samba schools, specifically of Manguiera, Guillermoprieto illustrates a complex image of race relations in Brazil. The hegemonic character of samba culture in Brazil stands as a prevalent theme in numerous facets of favela life, samba schools, and racial interactions like the increasing involvement of white Brazilians in Carnival preparation and the popularity of mulatas with white Brazilians and tourists. Rio de Janeiro’s early development as a city was largely segregated after the practice of slavery ended. The centralization of Afro-Brazilians in favelas in the hills of the city strengthened their ties to black
Wisner, Heather. “With a Hop, A Kick, And A Turn, Cumbia Enters the Global Stage.” Dance Magazine 80.9 (2006): 64-68. Humanities Abstracts (H.W. Wilson). Web. 7 Dec. 2011
By that point in time the Brazilian music scene was split into two. One side consisted of the traditionalists who were supported by both the conservative establishment as well as the leftist opposition, led by intellectuals, the cultural elite and students. They opposed all foreign influences on Brazilian music. Most artists at the time either supported or followed the “rules” set by the traditionalists. The other side were those who were fans of English and American music (Perrone, Dunn 96-97).
However, out of slavery comes culture which is common for most countries who capitalized on it. Africans brought their religion and music on the slave ships and continued to practice their beliefs in their new locations. African culture can definitely be observed in Brazil, where some people have continued to keep their ancestral culture alive while making integrations of new practices that reflect their reality. Capoeira and candomblé are examples of this. Capoeira is a Brazilian art form that combines dance and rhythm in a coordinated fashion. It was initially practiced by slaves, as a way to teach others how to defend themselves with martial arts without the slave-owner knowing their actions; fighting was disguised as dancing. Candomblé is a dance to honor the African gods. Capoeira and candomblé both keep African heritage present in Brazil, passing this culture down as their ancestors once
The Folklorico group presentation I was honored to observed was the “Grupo Folklorico Juventud” from North Salinas High School. I decided to attend to this presentation because I use to be part of this Folklorico group. I also enjoy watching the dances for the reason that I believe they are beyond beautiful. It is amazing how a simple dance could transmit so much information while representing a region from Mexico. From my observation experienced, I noticed every region has different movements and customs for a reason. While observing the presentation I noticed most women used long skirts to create different shapes. They usually create the eight shape, half a circle or an entire circle which is created when the dancer does an entire spin while holding and moving their skirt. The skirt is also moved in different levels, such as high, medium, and low. The two levels that are used in most of the dances is the high and the medium level. While dancing the men and women usually do the same steps and movements. All the dances include “zapateados” which are known as foot dances or stomps. The “zapateados” are usually done with different parts of the feet such as the toe, heel and the sole of the feet. The dances include “zapateados” with different sections of the feet because every part creates a different sound. Most of the dances also include jumps and turns. It is extremely important for the
Dance is just as important and music in Afro-Cuban Culture. The music is made to be danced to, and most of the popular Cuban dances that exist today are of African decent. The most popular are the rumba, danzon, and son. Especially among the working class poor, dancing and music was simply a way to blow off steam and have a good time.
One of the easiest ways to classify the style or character of the dances is through four major genres, which dictate the movement and purpose of any particular dance. Bun-no-mai dances contain the largest selection of any genre, serving as the dances of noble figures and civil officials.() Ideas of elegance and refinement were conveyed through abstract movements that are performed by a company of four to six dancers and a large majority of Bun-no-mai contains no dramatic elements which allows for the dance to stand alone. Defined distinctly by Confucianism, Bu-no-mai are the military class dances. The stories of Bu-no-mai dances are often used to tell historical epics and use broader movements to help with exaggeration. Dancers for Bu-no-mai will often carry weapon, usually a sword. Hashiri-mai is a more advanced form of Bugaku dance, commonly referred to as the “running dance”. These complex dances are typically performed in duets, though there are exceptions with some being solo or four person dances. Containing very dramatic with luxurious robes, masks and settings, dancers would often perform many special movements for Hashiri-mai that are far beyond the basic techniques of Bugaku. Finally, there are Dobu dances, which are performed by children to symbolize youth, innocence and purity. Dobu is very similar to Hashiri-mai, with several pieces crossing over
This dance they get into nature by way of rhythm and it can make your body
Women and men would stand in opposing lines, facing their partner. Dancers would join in the middle, perform a section of movement, and then move back to their respective positions. The country line dance that we associate with the movement style spread from Texas during the 1970’s and 80’s as a quad square dance that mimics line dance formations of American Indians and some African tribes. Some of the most notable movements were the “the Four Corners” and the “Tush Push”, both of which began as square dances and evolved to fit the line dance format. These grew into a cultural phenomenon through dance caravans, as well as expanded in clubs during the disco era. Modern Line Dance is defined as “dancing synchronized choreographed steps by a group of people not physically touching and which may move to repeat the same pattern, facing up to four different walls” (Strickland) The music that accompanies Line Dance is used to cue a series of tags, phrases and restarts in the patterning of steps. The most common association is twangy, deep sounds that manifest in string instrument strums. hums and accented vocalists. Each sequence, also known as “wall”, will last from anywhere between 32 to 64 beats and signal the beginning of a new section of movement. Line dancing is characterized by each dancer dancing independently by
The beat of Salsa music is 4/4, but there are three weight changes in each measure which is the style of the dance. Your body changes weight. Most of the motion ends up in the hips. The move are derivative of other partner dances such as the mambo, or the rumba. There is five basic feature step in salsa dance. There are more difficult features but these are the easiest
On to technique, I saw how some dancers had a really great turn out and often remembered to point their toes. Other types of technique I saw were arrastres, degages, developpes, Fifth positions, first positions, and grand jetes. There were a lot more but these are the main ones that I saw. Getting technique down is not very easy so I give props to all of the dancers.
To begin, the choreography of the the performance was well designed, and expressed by dance notation. There was a variety of techniques used while performing, for example, repetition, mirroring, and unison. During the performance the dancers were
The Khmer people developed a form of martial arts that was used by armies and the equivalent of the police called bokator, which means “pounding the lion”. It was formed and developed by ideas coming from nature, like imitating the movements of trees and animals, using elbow and knee strikes, shin kicks and weapons like short sticks and bamboo staffs. This martial art still survives to this day, under the name “Thai kickboxing”.
Generally the techniques are lightweight, direct and could have quick or sustained movement. It is a locomotive dance. They are usually stretched upwards vertically. Running, leaping, turning, twirling and hopping are dominant forms of movement. The choreography varies depending on the performance and the style of the choreographer. Ballet sometimes can be seen as strict and
Treva Bedinghaus describe boogaloo as a “style [that] is closely related to popping, with dancers involved in rolling the hips, knees, legs, and head.” This dance movement is very loose and smooth, which gives the dancer the illusion of having no bones. Boogaloo consists of movements that use the entire body, in order to give it that gooey and flowy look. Rolling parts of the body is used as a transition into a new movement, such as the head, hips, and knees. Many dancers use boogaloo movements as a transition from one popping movement to the other. Common boogaloo terms include twist-o-flex, walk-out, fakey, neck-o-flex, cobra, snakin’, slides, glides, old man, and