When music meets martial arts

The campus is still quiet at 11 a.m. Sunday, when about 25 students and capoeira Angola masters slowly gather in a dance room at Hutchinson Hall to begin their third day of workshops. Individuals begin stretching on their own before they are called together to form a circle, or "roda." Several members of the group sit together playing drums, tambourines and the berimbaus, a traditional capoeira Angola instrument.

The group quiets down, and the instruments come together to create magnificent sounds as Mestre Jurandir starts to sing. Then the rest join in the singing. Two members leave the circle and walk to the center, where they grasp hands, ready to begin the "game." Keeping their bodies close to the floor, the two stealthily move around the circle, gracefully swinging their legs over each other and entangling their bodies in a form of pretend combat.

Last weekend, students from The Evergreen State College and the UW who are members of the International capoeira Angola Foundation held a three-day event to introduce capoeira Angola -- an Afro-Brazilian art form -- to students, faculty and administrations at three different colleges. It was the first "capoeira Angola encounter" the organization has held. On Sunday, the group met at the UW for the last day of the event, which consisted of workshops and discussions. An important topic was the possible role of capoeira Angola in educational institutions, and what students could gain from it.

"People learn about themselves, learn about the world and how to respect others," said Jurandir, president of the foundation, who has spent 30 years studying and teaching the Afro-Brazilian art to students and children all over the world.

Jurandir has visited juvenile-detention centers and worked with kids with disabilities, and said he found strength in every person with whom he worked.

Capoeira Angola has been around for nearly 400 years. It was created as a form of combat first used by enslaved Africans in Brazil to fight the oppression of their rulers. It was outlawed by the Portuguese rulers, and evolved into a dance or form of martial arts to avoid persecution. The movements, music and tradition are passed down from masters to students by word of mouth.

"It is a unique martial art, a kind of dance, 'game,' with movements, music and instruments," said Sandra Hernandes, a graduate student in education at UW.

But it is more than just a game. Capoeira Angola is a way of learning and building a community.

"There are many aspects about Capoeira," said Jurandir. "It is a natural pedagogy that is more than just a way of teaching."

Jurandir spent the past six years at schools and universities, including George Washington University and The Evergreen State College. Recently, he has been working with Hernandes to create a capoeira Angola community within the UW.

"This student organization has just started at UW, and has only been around for about a year," said Hernandes. "However, it has had a history here for four years." During her time at the UW, Hernandes has worked toward bringing capoeira Angola to the students. Jurandir and Hernandes are looking toward expanding the program by offering classes at the IMA, thus increasing the number of participants.

One of the main themes a mestre, which means "master" in Portuguese, of capoeira Angola stresses is the idea that there is more to learning than what a school can teach.

"People think you can learn everything in school and in universities," said Jurandir. "Capoeira Angola is culture. You learn it from the street, the world."

As a graduate student studying education, Hernandes felt there was more to education than what was taught in universities and schools.

"Students of capoeira Angola participate not only to learn and work, but to form a community," said Hernandes. "It challenges people."

The event held at the UW was a chance for the organization to reach students interested in capoeira Angola. For more information about capoeira Angola at the UW, visit the Web site at www.angelfire.com/on/capoeiraangola.