Press Center
For Immediate Release
July 4, 2009
Media Contact: John Dakin
(970) 949-1999
VAIL, Colorado—Chances are you have never heard of a capoeirista (pronounced ka-pwer-rista).
No, it’s not a Brazilian Starbucks employee, but those artists practicing the dance form known as capoeira will definitely provide a jolt to your senses August 8 and 9 as performers from DanceBrazil join a stellar gathering of some of the world’s premier dancers for the Vail International Dance Festival’s International Evenings of Dance at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater.
Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, games, music and dance. It was created in Brazil by slaves brought from Africa, especially from present day Angola, sometime after the 16th century.
Participants form a roda or circle, taking turns either playing musical instruments, singing or ritually sparring in pairs in the center of the circle. The sparring is marked by fluid acrobatic play, feints and extensive use of sweeps, kicks and head butts.
Direct from Salvador, Bahia, DanceBrazil is a stunning company of dancers, musicians and capoeristas who celebrate the pulsating music and dance of their homeland. Vibrant and seductive, DanceBrazil has created an athletic style of movement which melds the energy of traditional capoeira with contemporary twists, richly colorful music and costumes, samba-inspired dance, and the whiplash movements of capoeira.
“I am thrilled to be able to introduce DanceBrazil and capoeira to Vail in conjunction with the International Evenings of Dance,” explained Damian Woetzel, Director of the Vail International Dance Festival. “I had the pleasure of seeing DanceBrazil and meeting their director Jelon Vieira in their hometown of Salvador, Brazil for the first time about 15 years ago, and I was stunned by the brilliance of capoeira which was new to me at that time. I can’t wait to see them dance as part of the festival this year, it’s going to be just incredible.”
DanceBrazil’s artistic director Jelon Vieira is credited with introducing capoeira to the United States in the mid 1970's, and for almost 40 years, he has guided the company through breathtaking performances around the world.
Capoeira’s origins and purpose are a matter of debate, with theories ranging from views of the art form as a uniquely Brazilian folk dance with improvised fighting movements to claims that it is a battle-ready fighting form, directly descended from ancient African techniques.
As capoeira’s popularity spread throughout the world, so too did its use in popular culture. Capoeiristas have been seen in television commercials, video games and music videos for a number of years.
In the 2004 debut of “Catwoman”, Halle Berry states that she studied capoeira as Catwoman’s fighting style, while capoeira is the dance of the male troll in the popular online game World of Warcraft.
Tickets for the International Evenings of Dance are priced at $65 and $85 for Reserved Amphitheater pavilion seating and $17 for General Admission lawn seating.
Tickets for all performances of the 2009 Vail International Dance Festival are available online at www.vaildance.org or by phone at either (970) 845-TIXS (8497) or 888-920-ARTS (2787).
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