Columbus students meet, practice art of Capoeira

In a small dark rotunda in Sullivant Hall, one of the best kept secrets at Ohio State is hidden. Although gaining notoriety could surely advance its popularity, this secret would prefer to embrace its ambiguity and be left in the shadows.

Tribo Afro-Bahiana de Capoeira Angola Tradicional Columbus is a community training group that practices the art of Capoeira Angola, a Brazilian dance-fighting game from Bahia, Brazil.

Taught by founding member Edward Luna, a master’s alumnus of the OSU department of dance, the group formed in 2002 as an affiliated chapter of T.A.B.C.A.T. of Mestre Caboquinho based out of Detroit.

Classes routinely begin by playing traditional Brazilian music, which resounds across the small enclosed space. Students either play the music themselves to Luna’s instruction on instruments such as a Brazilian birimbau, tambourines or bongos, or Luna plays a CD if all students are in action on the floor.

“Music marks everything in life,” Luna said. “You can’t have Capoeira without music.”

Through movements designed to entice an opponent while respecting personal space, the bodies of T.A.B.C.A.T. members are tested through quick movements, methodic kicks to the torso and slow, elusive handstands.

“It goes against traditional dance training when you have structure,” Luna said. “It’s not about the movement. It’s about the thought behind the movement. It’s not about how high your leg will go, but about why you put it there.”

The mentality behind Capoeira Angola differs from the mentality of traditional martial arts because the ultimate goal is not to act violently against opponents, but instead to entice them to continue playing, Luna said.

“Aggression will be met with skepticism,” Luna said. “The secret is to work the elements, such as how to trip someone without even touching. It is the disguising of a fight.”

Capoeira Angola originates from African movements that relocated to Brazil through the transatlantic slave trade. The movements were designed to be practiced between two people and be playful, evasive and seductive. For the African people, practicing Capoeira Angola served as a way to express the frustrations of slavery yet still keep personal secrets to themselves, Luna said.

“In the slave context, it was a way to express your culture and be rebellious,” Luna said. “Here was a form that bubbled up by laughing in the face of slavery.”

The combination of martial arts and dance not only tests participants physically but mentally as they grow in the practice. Regular participants of Capoeira Angola find their connection to the art affects them after they stop practicing and also keeps them coming back for more.

“It was really difficult at the beginning when I started this past November,” said OSU alumnus Steve Lefevre. “However, coming to practice is now something I look forward to.”

The secrecy of the dance has a powerful impact on each of the T.A.B.C.A.T. members who can not fully communicate the meaning of this dance to their own lives. Instead, they prefer to keep their interpretation of the real meaning of Capoeira Angola their own secret, much like the early participants centuries ago.

Public drop-in classes are held three times per week from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday in the north rotunda in Sullivant Hall. Luna also teaches Capoeira Angola through the OSU department of dance during fall, winter and spring quarters.

Kate Christobek can be reached at [email protected].