July 3, 2010
I was walking along Bloor Street and I came across this Capoeira (pronounced Cap-oh-air-ah) dance circle. It was a big group, with members of different ages, genres and nationalities, just having fun on a sunny afternoon. Although I've heard that it is mostly a male dominated dance, I must point out that the ladies were kicking butt!
So what is Capoeira? It is an Afro-Brazilian folk dance using martial arts movements. It was developed in the 1500's by the indigenous and black slaves in Brazil as a form of self expression and self-defence. It requires a great amount of endurance, flexibility and awareness to re-enact these fight scenes. The whole point is to avoid getting kicked and punched, while showing off some air flips and high kicks. All this is done to the sound of drums and claps.
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Capoeira is a great way to exercise and it doesn't really feel like it. It just feels like you're a kid playing again. Two Thumbs up!