Entertainment Cultural Close-up

Capoeira
Fever
Just for kicks, this blend of
dance movements and self
defence is sweeping the islands.
Where did Dennis Eckart get those abs of steel? Perhaps nine
years of practicing the sweeping kicks, spontaneous jumps and agile
cartwheels of capoeira has something to do with it.
The unique martial art — marrying fluid dance movements with
cunning self-defence techniques — is a fast-growing sport the
26-year-old alpha athlete has mastered through intense training in
Brazil (where it was first developed in the 16th century by enslaved
Africans), Germany (where he was born), Poland and Austria.
Now, he brings his capoeira know-how to the Caribbean.
Picture this: A pair of capoeiristas face off inside a roda, or circle,
made up of musicians and curious onlookers. Each player sways to
the music dodging the opponent with high-flying flips, handstands
and headspins break-dance style. The aim is simple: Trick your
opponent into taking an off-guard position without any direct
blows or blocks.
As the beat quickens, the faux-fight intensifies.
The exotic music — in the form of the atabaque (drum),
berimbaus (a gourd with a string attached to a stick) and pandeiro
(tambourine) — sets it apart from other martial arts and establishes
the rhythm of the game.
“Capoeira is life,” says Eckart, who leads Jamaican-based Grupo
Cativeiro Capoeira, a martial arts/dance troupe. “It has the
Photos: Grupo Cativeiro Capoeira

potential to unite persons regardless of their skin colour, social

status or gender.”
The adrenaline-pumping sport is so welcoming, in fact, it hosts
more than 10,000 followers worldwide and groups are popping
up from the Cayman Islands to Barbados. “Caribbean people are
becoming more aware and proud of their African heritage and
realize that capoeira is a way of expressing that,” he explains.
Pop culture is embracing it, too. If you’ve seen any Wyclef Jean
and the Black Eyed Peas’ videos lately — like Hips Don’t Lie or Mas
que nada — you’ll notice the background dancers are striking a few Dennis Eckart trains students of all ages
capoeira moves. in capoeira, a Brazilian martial arts form
promoting peace and non-violence.
It’s everywhere. And Eckart says the best part is that “the art can
be learned and practiced by almost everyone.”

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