Capoeira

[Flying Crane]

unfortunately I cannot remember off the top of my head what primary style master Snipes uses, but it is definitely not Capoeira, though it is possible he has done some cross training in it. I do know that his primary art is a Japanese art. Many arts use spinning manuvers. So just because you saw some spin kicks does not mean that he is using Capoeira. (okay totally didn't mean to sound that agressive, sorry about that)

I believe Mr. Snipes has a solid background in Shotokan karate, as well as a solid background in capoeira. He trained in New York City for a number of years under Mestre Jelon Viera, who has taught there since the 1970s. I believe Mr. Snipes is well past the beginner stage in the art, and is fairly accomplished. I have noted very specific capoeira technique in his movies, specifically the Blade series. Some of them are brief and quick, and done with an odd camera angle and quick editing so if you don't know what it is you might miss it altogether. But it is definitely in there, alongside material from his shotokan and possibly other sources.

I find that Capo. has a very interesting history being that it was created to facilitate practice in the fighting arts without the captors of the brazilian people knowing... that's why it is taught as a dance. I am so going to train in it myself if I ever find a reputable school and the time to devote to it.

This is really probably a myth. In reality, the African people simply had a very different social organization in their cultures, compared to the Europeans. Rhythm and music and a sense of dance are much more prevalent among the African tribal people who were brought as slaves to Brazil. It permeated every aspect of their lives, and was not specifically infused into capoeira in order to disguise it. The art is not taught as a dance, altho the rhythm and music and dancelike elements of the art are definitely part of the whole picture. If you ever see a good capoeira class, it is very clearly a martial method, even tho it can be playful, and would not be described as a "dance class".

 

[Chitmunk]

I guess I stand corrected...

 

[Flying Crane]

I guess I stand corrected...

No worries. It's an art that not many people really know much about. Until recently, there has been little academic works on the art, at least in the US and in English. Many of the historical records in Brazil from the slave times were deliberately destroyed, so it's been a tough road for those who wished to research subjects like this. So a certain amount of mythology sort of builds up around the art and people tend to misunderstand what it is and how it developed. I've been fortunate to study under a very good teacher with very strong connections to the capoeira world in Brazil. That's given me an insider's perspective that not everyone would have. I've also read every book in English that I can find about it, some of which are better, others worse, than the others. But that helps to put the pieces in place and some pretty good work has been done recently to uncover the history surrounding this art.

 

[arnisador]

Dance Review
Energizing Modern Dance With a Martial-Arts Kick

DanceBrazil, which performed at Central Park SummerStage on Friday evening, has been trained to deliver capoeira: the Afro-Brazilian genre, originally developed by slaves, in which dance meets martial arts. Since this meant that 10 good-looking and exceptionally fit men in white trousers, their smooth chests usually bare, delivered a display of agility and acrobatics to largely percussive Afro-Brazilian music, it is scarcely surprising that there were ecstatic screams and eager applause from the thronged audience. (The company also included one woman, but although she earned applause, she wasn’t central to the experience.)

What was often in doubt, though, was whether all of this was interesting as dance.