Style...

Style in Capoeira is bit of a missing element in recent times. Recent? I'm talking about the last 10 years or so. There are so many amazing moves being done today by capoeiristas, great interaction and communication being performed in Rodas around the world, but very few stylish Capoeiristas. Actualy, one can count the capoeiras with style on his fingers and without taking his shoes off. Its realy a sad state of affairs. The original, authentic, expressive feel capoeira once had is lost, and people dont even look up to the ones who still dedicate time and effort to polish their moves.

From my view, and I've been traveling around quite a lot in the past 10 years going to capoeira events around the world, most people are looking to complete the moves techniquely, but when it is done, they move on. That is actualy just the begining stages of doing something in Capoeira. You still need to put emotion into it, polish it, look for the cleanest, smoothest, sharpest execution. Lets not lose sight of what makes Capoeira be Capoeira. Contemporary capoeiristas need to learn a lesson from the Angoleiros, almost the only ones left in the Capoeira world that are still after the 'feel' of things and are not stopping at the point of perfect technical execution. Maybe the reason is they kept their art simple and though maintained authenticity and originality. With all the diffrent new things going on nowdays in the Capoeira world, how can we stop for a moment, and improve upon some of the most basic elements? Take a step back and look around. This is what will make you special and diffrent. Stop being one of a crowd, look for your self in the perfection of your art. Lets get back to those amazingly creative Rodas of the early 90th... See you there.