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Dance Tue Jul 08 2008
It's a dance! It's a fight! No, it's capoeira!
If you're curious about an art form that is more than the sum of its parts (its parts being dance and martial arts), then Gingarte Capoeira Chicago has your weekend all planned out for you. In capoeira, what starts off looking like a partnered dance turns into an improvised fight--both aggressive and graceful--with kicks, throws, and acrobatics. The music is also instrumental (ha) in this art form that originated (arguably) in the sixteenth century with African slaves in Brazil who wanted to disguise their self-defense training. Today's capoeira dancers are disciplined and spiritual and, as with martial artists, consider it to be a way of life.
Gingarte has been around since 1991, teaching and promoting capoeira, as well as Brazilian music and language. They have an Academy in Pilsen where you can take advantage of their classes year-round, but July 10 through 13 is their 14th Annual Batizado e Troca de Cordões, where you can participate in workshops on capoeira, music, maculelê, and samba. Click the link for the weekend event schedule, registration information (register by July 9), and fees for adults and youth.
Of course, the weekend wouldn't be complete without an opportunity to see the artists at work. Gingarte Capoeira's "Resistência" performance is at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 12, at the University of Illinois Chicago, Performing Arts Theater, 1044 W. Harrison St. Tickets are $10 in advance (online ticket sales end Friday), $15 at the door, $5 ages 16 and under.
