Brazil, 16th century
CAPOEIRA
The warriors' dance
Capoeira was born in colonial Brazil, starting in the 16th century, in the senzalas (slave quarters) and quilombos (communities of runaway slaves). It is the fruit of a blend between the martial and dance traditions of the Bantu peoples of Angola and Congo — notably the n'golo, the "zebra dance" — and the brutal conditions of life under slavery. Forbidden weapons and combat, the enslaved disguised their martial training as dance: thus was born an art that hides formidable effectiveness beneath the fluidity of gesture.
After the abolition of slavery in 1888, Capoeira was criminalized until 1937. It was in Bahia, in the 1930s, that Mestre Bimba structured "Capoeira Regional" while Mestre Pastinha preserved "Capoeira Angola." Since then, it has been inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list (2014). It is practiced in a roda, a circle formed by musicians and capoeiristas, at the center of which two players (jogadores) improvise a "jogo" — a game that is at once martial, danced, and musical.
There are two main schools. Capoeira Angola, the oldest, is played close to the ground, slowly, with cunning and humor: it is a beast's game, full of feints, in which one reads one's opponent. Capoeira Regional, more recent, adds a more vertical martial gestural language, faster strikes, acrobatics. Many contemporary schools practice a "Capoeira Contemporânea" that draws on both traditions. In every case, the music is not mere accompaniment: it is what dictates the rhythm, the energy, and the nature of the game.
How it's danced
Technique & figures
Capoeira is neither a pure dance nor a pure martial art: it is a "jogo," a game, whose logic is dialogue. Two capoeiristas enter the roda and improvise according to what the other proposes: every attack is met with a dodge and a suggested counter-attack. The whole vocabulary rests on three pillars: the ginga (the perpetual basic movement), the esquivas (dodges), and the golpes (strikes). Nothing is predetermined; everything is listening and musicality.
Styles and fundamentals
Two great traditions coexist. Capoeira Angola, preserved by Mestre Pastinha in Bahia, is played close to the ground, slowly, with plenty of mandinga (cunning, feint, theatricality). It proudly carries its African roots and ritual dimension. Capoeira Regional, created by Mestre Bimba in the 1930s, structures learning into sequences ("sequências") and incorporates influences from batuque and martial arts; it is more vertical, faster, more "sporting." Both are practiced in a roda, around a bateria (orchestra) led by the berimbau.
Main figures
- 01
Ginga
The basic, perpetual movement: swaying from one foot to the other in a triangle, never still. It is Capoeira's breath; without ginga, no game is possible.
- 02
Au (cartwheel)
A sideways roll, hands on the ground, legs in the air. Used as an entry, exit, or dodge. Fundamental for circulating within the roda.
- 03
Meia-lua de frente
A circular kick, the leg tracing a horizontal half-moon at head height. An emblematic kick and often the first one learned.
- 04
Armada
A spinning kick: the body pivots on itself and the free leg sweeps through space. One of the most spectacular kicks of Capoeira Regional.
- 05
Rasteira
A ground sweep, the foot hooked behind the opponent's supporting leg to make them fall. A signature move of Capoeira Angola's game.
- 06
Esquiva baixa
A low dodge: the body suddenly crouches to pass beneath a circular attack. It teaches the importance of bent legs and staying low.
- 07
Queda de rins
A balance on one elbow, the body horizontal above the ground. A typical support figure of Capoeira Angola's low game.
- 08
Chamada
"Call": one player invites the other to approach in a ritual posture, marking a pause in the game and testing their vigilance. An emblem of Angolan mandinga.
Reading the music
The bateria is led by three berimbaus (a one-string musical bow with a gourd: gunga, médio, viola), joined by the atabaque (drum), pandeiro (tambourine), agogô, and reco-reco. Each berimbau "toque" — Angola, São Bento Grande, Iúna, Samango — dictates the nature of the game: slow and cunning, martial and fast, ritual, playful. The songs (ladainhas, corridos, quadras) tell the story of the mestres, the memory of slavery, and the codes of the roda.
Did you know?
Explore the rhythms
Same family
Systèmes de Combat & Sacrés
Cross connections
Styles from other families that share a common language with Capoeira.