CM Chorao leads the group in Indianapolis
Contramestre Chorão of Grupo Acupe de Brotas in Indianapolis hosted a weekend workshop with Treineus Beto (FICA-Chicago) and Baba (FICA-Bahia) from July 12-16 to celebrate the group’s one year anniversary in Indianapolis. Here are some pictures and students reflections on the weekend.
Our first event celebrating one year in Indianapolis was an exciting experience. Planned and organized by Contra-Mestre Chorão, the weekend went perfectly according to plan. For four days we trained, played music and had two Rodas. The first Roda at Broad Ripple Park was more intimate as we played in a large park to several on lookers. The second Roda we played in the city and garnered a large crowd and were able to spread the word about Grupo Acupe to many people.
We were very lucky to train with Treinel Beto Defeitas from Chicago’s Quilombo Cultural Center and Baba from the International Capoeira Angola Foundation in Washington D.C. We listened and learned from them all weekend. Each one had new and different information about Capoeira Angola which allowed us to absorb a new perspective about the movements and the music. We were sad to see them go when the event ended. – StacyB
Michelle from Chicago with partner.
Grupo Acupe’s first anniversary was a great experience for me as a person and capoeirista. From the beginning to the end I felt I was challenged mentally as well as physically. Thursday was said to be a regular class but nothing was regular about it. Baba was there and he taught us a lot of different aspects of our basic movements. Learning someone else's style of movement within a slow pace was really difficult but really rewarding. The next day was an improvement in its self from the singing for a few hours to playing in the roda well past dark. I had a great time playing in the dark for the simple fact that one sense was inhibited while the others had to be heightened. Then there was the caxixi work shop which was really informative to our group since we hadn't seen this yet. The rest of the weekend was filled with more vigorous training and a few more rodas. All in all this event came out great even though a lot of people didn't show up. As Chicago's teacher Beto said, "Numbers don't matter, quality does".
Lastly, what I feel capoeira is to me would be a very long endeavor so I think I will shorten it a bit. Capoeira means so much to me and is growing everyday. When I started I didn't know if it was something that I would continue or if it was just something to do at the time. Now with not much over a year under my belt I feel there is no way I can part with this art. It's not only some where to go and be with friends anymore it's a part of my soul. I feel that I need to do something that is associated with capoeira every day be it train some basic movements, learn some songs, or play some berimbau. I feel every time I go to an encounter I gain new family members that genuinely care about how you feel and your growth in the art of Angola. These are a few of the reason I do what I do, and feel I must constantly get better. – MarquiseF
I want to also thank Baba and Beto and everyone else for coming this weekend. Their presence here with us in Indianapolis was full of energy and love for the group. I think the exchange we had was good for all of us, and I think that we need to cultivate this relationship. What was so amazing is that when Baba or Beto was teaching, or we were playing with the students from Chicago, is that they would do a move very similar to one that we do here in Indianapolis, but with a little change. Even though it was very similar, it was like a whole different move. It was very helpful to see other people play and really made you think and adjust while you were playing them. Just little differences like that help immensely in improving our game...
... It was a very special moment for our group and there is no way we can thank you enough for the energy, love, and knowledge that you shared with us. – KarlS
Kids!
Sounds like a very successful year! Here’s to many more!
Thanks to T Baba for the photos and to StacyB, MarquiseF, and KarlS for the reflections.
check out more pictures on the Portuguese side of the site.
**If you would like to post photos and/or reflections of an event from your school, please e-mail us the information at ficadcarchives(at)gmail.com. We can do the translations between Portuguese and English.
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