"I never thought capoeira would become something that I'd plan my life around, but its become what I want to do - I want to go to Brazil and learn everything." Zoe Ryan is a capoeirista from Sheffield, who has been playing for just a year.
What is it that makes capoeria so different, that it can engulf people like this?
Player Paul Cleland: "It loosens your body and breaks the barriers that white people have with expression, jamming... you don't feel like you're restricted once you feel the energy inside the roda because you are somewhere else. Definitely a big part is the energy, the singing and the instruments."
African Dance coach Natasha Player agrees the game brings elements that many British are not used to: "Capoeria uses free flowing movements that other non-western countries have - hip movements and connections with rhythm. Once you've mastered it you can let go a lot more, feel the dance and link it to the music, release the fear. It must be frustrating as a teacher because the British are quite rigid and find the proximity of the game quite intrusive."
But more than this, capoeira has been used to help those with behavioural difficulties and social problems.
As Jack Kingslake from Filhos de Angola says: "With kids it is a really powerful way of breaking down negativity, aggression... it's a kind of behavioural probe. We have kids with cerebral palsy in some groups and use capoeira to help them. In Brazil I've even seen people with polio play."
Cleber da Silva agrees: "I started because I had problems, and in my mind fighting was the way to resolve them, but after starting capoeria it teaches you to keep control of your emotions, mind and body and I started to love with all my heart the capoeira."
Da Silva drew on his own experiences when he taught street kids in Brazil. His assistant teacher Bia Viana explains:" I started to think 'this boy (Da Silva) is crazy' to stay in this disgusting place and teach children who don't have respect, who were like devils. But soon they respected Cleber.. nobody else could touch or speak to these children." Da Silva smiles: "It's important to be together as a group... capoeira is a family."
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