Saturday, October 22, 2011

Song Letras: Capoeira E Defesa Ataque

In line with learning to grasp how capoeira can be so diverse, here's a song you might like to sing! The chorus is a mouthful, but the meanings might help you remember.

We will be singing this in the next roda!

Capoeira E Defesa Ataque



Coro:
Capoeira, é defesa, ataque (Capoeira is a defense, an attack)
a ginga de corpo e a malandragem, (the sway of the body, and the malandragem)


São Fransisco Nunes (St. Fransiscus Nunes)
Preto Velho meu avô (Old black man, my grandfather)
Ensinou para o meu pai (He taught my father)
Mas meu pai não me ensinou (but my father did not teach me)

Coro

O Maculelê (The maculele)
é a dança do pau (is a dance with woods)
Na roda de Capoeira (In the roda of Capoeira)
é no toque do berimbau (it's in the rhythm of the berimbau)

Coro

Eu já tive em Moçambique (I have been to Mozambique)
Eu já tive em Guinè (I have been to Guine)
Tô voltando de Angola (I'm coming back from Angola)
Com o jogo de Malè (with the game of Malè)

Coro

Se você quer aprender (If you want to learn)
Vai ter que praticar (go practice it )
Mas na roda de Capoeira (But in the roda of Capoeira)
É gostoso de jogar (it's a delight to play)



Coro

Jogo galore!

For the past two weeks we have moved away from the usual benguela roda that we are so accustomed to. Aside from some crazy conditioning by a certain crazy capoeirista (don't worry, this will tone down next week), we have since been exposed to a little of regionalangola, maculele and samba! Now isn't that a chunk!

As you have noticed (and for most of you, this being the reason you love this art), capoeira is an amalgamation of so many things, such as music, history, language, philosophy, and martial arts. Because of this, the game doesn't revolve around some ass-kicking self-defense skills, as the letras go, "Isso jogo capoeira, nao e karate". It becomes complicated when all these different aspects interweave to generate different styles and ways of moving the bodies along with music. This means you have more excitingly diverse games in capoeira to express yourselves in!

To veeeerrrryyyyyy briefly recap what you've learnt:
angola - challenging as it involves more mandinga or trickeries,
regional - also demanding and sweat-inducing as it requires quick-thinking and high-intensity kicks,
maculele - the fun stick-dance you learnt last Thursday. Remember the V-shape!
samba - that petrifying hip-moving dance... for some it's more hardwork than angola, though evidently most of you can really move to the yummy beats of samba (not to be confused with sambal)!

These are only but a few out of the great treasure chest of capoeira styles. We will hopefully learn more about them as we train, but the important thing is that you enjoy yourselves.

We apologise that we can't write as much on the blog due to towering amount of assignments. But we will try our best to post more on these different games here when we are liberated from the unforgiving essays!

For now ginga along and it will all be muito beleza!

Rosinha

Want More, Need More!

Hey you capoeira-geek!

Don't need to role away. This refers to you, the one reading this while loading multiple capoeira videos on youtube. ;P

Do you find yourself

  • thirsting for more capoeira? 
  • wanting to improve that au for ages? 
  • wishing you played more in the roda
  • needing to channel more axe into that pandeiro? 

We know, trainings just aren't enough! (That's partly why you keep checking capoeira blogs and youtube... we know, we do the same).

To cure this insanity, a couple of us seniors have decided to have some additional trainings aside from our normal classes.

This is entirely optional. It might involve capoeira conditioning, but it will mostly be free and easy - that is, everyone will be free to choose to focus on whichever aspect/moves of capoeira they wish to improve on. Best thing is, you will have seniors present to support and assist should you face any difficulties. We could also jogar together and play some music.

If you are interested, please contact us via the numbers on the right sidebar of this blog.

In the meantime, (being also a capoeira geek) I'd like to share with you this video! Comment on what you think of this roda!



Have a good weekend!

Rosinha

Friday, October 21, 2011

World Beats! 2011

Hey guys,

I thought you might be interested in an event this November called, "The World Beats". There will be music, dance and visual arts workshops and performances. This includes Javanese gamelan, Indian dance, and Capoeira!

Grupo Bantus Capoeira in Singapore will be giving the workshop and performance on the 17th of November, so if you'd like to see more capoeira, do head down! Performances are free, but you will have to fork-out a bit of $$$ for the workshops.

For more details visit: www.worldbeats.asia.

Rosinha

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Tricks AND Treats: Halloween Monthly Roda!

It's that time of the month again to ginga and jogar with other schools - the Monthly Roda!

Because we are approaching Halloween, it will be themed as such, so do come down dressed up in your best Halloween outfits and be ready for some bloodcurdling but exciting roda! 

Details are as follows:

Date: 30th Oct 2011 (Sun)
Time: 4-6pm
Venue: Orchard Central (the open space before Goldheart)
Meeting Place (before 4pm): Recognise Studios, Level 5, Orchard Central

To those interested, we could meet at 3.15pm at the Somerset MRT ticketing counter before going. Let us know! 

Also, do note that you will be doing capoeira in your costumes, so please dress to kill play!

See you there!

Rosinha

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Capoeira Encounter with Mestre Luizinho!

What's that? Need more capoeira, you say?

Then you will be pleased to hear that Mestre Luizinho from Grupo Xango (NUS' official grupo) will be in Singapore to share his knowledge this November/December! He will be coming down from Australia for a five-day workshop and this will be a great opportunity for you to learn more about the game from an experienced teacher in capoeira.

Once your exams are over, do head down! The workshop is open for all!

Details are in the poster below.
Should you have any queries, please email us at capoeira.nus@gmail.com

Meanwhile, all the best with school!

Song Letras: A Mare 'ta Cheia & Eu Vim Pra Vadiar


A Mare 'ta Cheia



 A maré 'tá cheia, ioio (The tide is high)
A maré 'tá cheia, iaia!
Coro: 
A maré 'tá cheia, ioio,
A maré 'tá cheia, iaia!

A maré subiu (The tide rose)
Corosobe maré (You see the tide rise)


A maré desceu (The tide went down)
Corodesce maré (You see the tide drop)
Ô maré com maré (The tide with the tide)
Corovou pra Ilha de Maré! (I am going to the island of Maré!)





Eu vim Pra Vadiar No Berimbau


Eu vim pra vadiar no berimbau (I came to linger on the berimbau)
eu vim pra vadiar no jogo (I came to linger in the game)
eu vim pra vadiar no canto e na palma (I came to linger in the music and in the clappings)
eu vim ver capoeira vadiar! (I came to see capoeira linger!)

Coro:
Eu vim pra vadiar no berimbau,
eu vim pra vadiar no jogo,
eu vim pra vadiar no canto e na palma,
eu vim ver capoeira vadiar!


Vadeia berimbau me da o som (Wading the sound of the berimbau)
transmita toda sua energia (I transmit all your energy)
ao seu comando a roda vai começar (at your command the roda will start)
pois hoje dia de alegria ! (it is the day of joy for today!)

Coro

E o capoeira sai para a vadiação (And the capoeira leaves for vagrancy)
e um bom jogo nos arrepia (and a good game in chills)
Martelo, cabeçada, rasteira e pisão  (Martelo, cabecada, rasteira and pisao)
mais sem atropelo e na harmonia! (no more hustle and harmony!)

Coro

E o canto embala o coração (And the song rocks the heart)
e historia e lamento e poesia (and history and sadness and poetry)
e a voz de um guerreiro soltar no ar (and the voice of a warrior in the air)
e a palma animando a bateria! (and the animated clapping and bateria!)

Coro


Divirta-se!

Sing sing, meu camara, sing!

It has been three good days since the last training, and you find yourself humming some infectious capoeira songs you've heard in the roda while studying. You vaguely know the words, so they come out as a confusing combination of Portuguese words, like "berimbau" and "eu vou", but you really can't help yourself.



Hey, that's alright, it happens to even the more experienced capoeiristas! It can be difficult to remember ALL the new songs and lyrics, but hopefully with time and practise you will be able to mouth them all as you go about singing in the roda. We apologise that we cannot teach every single song here on the blog or during training, but part of the fun is also in discovering them for yourself from youtube or tracking down and demanding a senior to teach you the lyrics before/after class (to coerce with sweaty after-training t-shirt..!).

Singing in capoeira as we have stressed is extremely important. Music provides the rhythm of the game, but singing extends this in that it invokes the mood of the game. It depends on the songs you choose and the way you sing them.

There is something enchanting about the sound of unified voices of people (what's more, capoeiristas who have similar passion for capoeira as you!) singing and clapping as though to motivate the two players in the middle. It is vital for the whole circle because you feel a particular connection when you sing and clap together with everyone, infusing sometimes some impromptu sounds to make the music and spirit merrier. It is as though your singing encourages the capoeira players in the circle to play and to play beautifully.


That is why it is so very necessary that everyone sings loudly and energetically because it has an affect on the players and the closeness of the grupo. It makes the roda lively, and it really influences how everyone feels about each other and about Capoeira as a whole, even after the roda has long ended.

Of course there is so much more to dwell upon under this aspect of capoeira, such as the philosophy of the songs itself, but we shall leave that for another post! For now, I hope everyone will start singing the songs more and with much gusto so that we can better enjoy the roda!

Keeping that in mind, does everyone remember the three songs we practised on Thursday, i.e. "Pisao Cabloco", "Amare 'ta Cheia", and "Eu Vim Pra Vadiar"? Take a look at the lyrics, meanings and videos in the next post. Hopefully we will get to hear some of the juniors lead the singing next week! ;)


Axe!
Rosinha (getting used to and liking blogging here)

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Grupo Senzala Penang Workshop with Professor Parabolica

Early this month, a few of us capoeira junkies headed down to Penang for an invaluable workshop weekend with an experienced teacher in capoeira, Professor Parabolica from Grupo Senzala.

While we admittedly stuffed ourselves with some irresistable Penang delicacies and the much-talked about Penang laksa (can you blame us, really?), the workshop was what satisfied our hunger for good yummy capoeira!



We would like to extend our deep gratitude to our fellow capoeiristas in Penang and especially to Professor Parabolica for the fantastic workshop as well as Instrutor Pixote! It is always good to learn from experienced teachers like them while also sharing our interests and passion with other capoeiristas irregardless of grupo, age, race, and so on. It certainly fueled our interest in capoeira!



I would like to also personally thank the NUS capoeira seniors for being insane and therefore cool enough to take a 10-hour drive to attend my grupo's (Grupo Senzala) workshop. It means a lot, and you are always welcomed to train with the grupo in Penang!

Muito obrigada!

Rosinha

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Training Venues

Hey guys!

Please note that our training venue is back at MPSH 2!

Ah, bigger space for bigger rounds of warm-ups! Hehe.

Rosinha

This Saturday's Capoeira Retreat

Hey sexy capoeiristas!

Itching to destress with capoeira from the intense school work? We are scratching too!

That is why this Saturday we are planning a mini-retreat at Sentosa beach, and you are invited to come!

*Lunch*Games*Chillout*Capoeira*Dinner*Fun!*
Be prepared to be sun-kissed and consumed by axe as we will most certainly inject some capoeira in the evening. For those who are up for it, we could do some tricking and practise some flips!

Meeting Time:
1pm

Meeting Place:
Harbourfront MRT ticketing counter

Things to Bring:
- Change of clothes & towel
- Suntan lotion
- Money
- Volleyball, Frisbee, anything you'd like for playing at the beach
- Snacks if you may,
- Homework if you can't help yourself,
- Axe if you must (oh and you must!)

Do confirm your attendance with us personally or via email at capoeira.nus@gmail.com. You may also access the Facebook Events page at here.

Also, contact Angeline (9835-4060) or KY (84444-319) for further information!

See you there!
Axe!

Step It Up!

Ola camaras!

Since our return from Recess Week, we hope all of you have been enjoying our trainings so far! 

We'd like to thank Instrutor Pixote from Grupo Senzala for visiting us last Thursday and for providing us with a wealth of capoeira wisdom and knowledge, even if we've only met for such a short time. It was certainly an invaluable encounter and we hope we will be able to meet again in another roda. 

Muito obrigada, Instrutor! 





If you remember (or feel from the lingering axe of last Thursday's roda), Instrutor Pixote introduced a song in the roda called, "Pisa Cabloco". Let's try to sing it in the roda next! For the benefit of those who would like to learn the song, here's a short clip and the lyrics:


Letra (lyrics)

Pisa caboclo 
quero ver você pisar (I want to see you step)
pisa la que eu piso ca (I step on the floor)
quero ver você pisar (I want to see you step)

Coro:
Pisa caboclo
quero ver você pisar

Na brida do meu samba (in the bridle of my samba)
quero ver você dançar (I want to see you dance)

Coro
Pisa la que eu piso ca (I step on the floor)
quero ver quem vai pular (I want to see who will jump)

Coro
Na batida do meu gunga (In the beat of my gunga)
quero ver você pular (I want to see you jump)

Coro



This song has an upbeat tempo and is pretty fun to sing when the energy in the roda is beginning to build up. I like it because it highlights the importance of being responsive and aware in the roda. When "I" am "stepping" or "dancing" on the floor, "I" want "you" to respond too. 


Thus, this song to me is a way of encouraging the other person to react and not merely play an individual game - part of the point in a jogo de capoeira! I like simple songs like this where you can draw so many interpretations out. 


But what do you think? Feel free to comment here how this song means to *you*! (:

As for our regular trainings, let's hope we can level up our game and always remember the lessons we've learnt from all our teachers in capoeira, such as Instrutor Pixote.





Axe everyone!

Rosinha (my first post!)