Like dervishes on heat the players whirl across the roda, back-flipping and cart-wheeling inches away from one another, while those enclosing them within the circle bellow back to the rhythms of the berimbau. The delicacy of the gymnastics betrays no hint of potential brutality, until suddenly the game takes a sharp turn away from playfulness, with a focused surprise attack. One player outfoxes his opponent, whose vulnerability is exposed, but he does not crash to the floor. Simply, a smile of comprehension crosses his face, and the players drop back. Then, with the hypnotic musical sound-clash ever-present, the game of capoeria continues...
"Samba meets Shaolin with a twist of spirituality and a sense of humour," is how capoeirista Paul Cleland describes the game.
After watching a match, one quickly understands that capoeira is not just a martial art or dance, but a hybrid of these and more. Jack Kingslake, who runs workshops all around the country with the group Filhos de Angola says: "The music is just as important - all together it's an art and for it to work it needs to be a balance of everything."
Capoeira's roots go back to 500 years ago in Brazil, when the Portuguese brought African slaves to the country. The slaves developed the game as a cunning way of learning fighting skills unbeknown to their captors, who thought it a savage's dance.
Cleber Da Silva, teacher at Origens do Brasil in Bournemouth claims: "The most important thing is to understand the history of capoeira... most people don't know how much the slaves suffered, but it's because of this that they created capoeira, a philosophy of life - a defence and attack. It is a fighting skill, but also a beautiful bailada (dance).
Nowadays there are several styles of capoeira, but many constants connect them. Two players interact in the middle of a roda (circle), which is formed by the other players, who will sing, clap and play special instruments. "The roda must be closed to stop the energy escaping," says Da Silva. The game itself consists of improvised combinations of kicks and acrobatics, a blend of aggression and cunning. Players join from the roda at any time, replacing one player who returns to the circle. The rhythm is vital throughout, and determines much about how any game develops.
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