Capoeira: Our Life Giving Waters
festival 2024
Berkeley Capoeira has an annual tradition called a Batizado and Troca de Cordões where students are recognized for their training with a new belt. The batizado will serve as the central event during our annual festival — this year’s festival theme is “Life Giving Waters”. We have invited teachers and scholars of Afro-Brazilian movement arts to add their energy to our event. This festival is possible in large part due to an arts grant from The City of Berkeley. Please join us for this unforgettable, magical celebration of an artform borne of resistance and resilience.
Friday 10/18/2024
4:00-5:00 Capoeira kids workshop (all levels, including lessons for complete beginners) with Mestra Marreta and other Collective teachers.
Saturday 10/19/2024
12:00-1:30 Panel Discussion on the festival theme, Águas Curativas, facilitated by Jesús Gutierrez, with guests Aníbal, Emaye, Maria, Salê.
5:00-8:00pm Be a spectator to a Batizado (baptismal) ceremony, where new belt promotions are awarded, followed by a capoeira roda with live music. Several mestres (master level capoeira practitioners) will be present as guest artists and playing capoeira at a world-class level.
9:00-9:45 Good Morning Yoga (Tako Polvo) to get limber for a day of movement!
10:00-11:30 Teen & Adult capoeira workshop (all levels, including lessons for complete beginners) Mestre Primeiro Grau Espaço for experienced students and Collective teachers for beginners.
11:30-12:30 Afro-Brazilian Dance class (all levels welcome, including beginners) with nives
nives, aka Professora Samambaia, believes in the restorative and transformative power of ancestral somatic, dance, and music forms. She is the founder and artistic director of Omi Tutu (‘cool/fresh water’ in Yoruba). It is both a study and performance group devoted to the acquisition and transfer of knowledge related to the artistic manifestations of the African Diaspora in the Americas. nives involves herself in community arts projects and collaborations that value radical inclusivity, creative expression, healing and reciprocity.
FAQs
Is the Festival Free? and How Do I register?
There are a number of events throughout the weekend of October 18-20 2024 which will be open to the public and completely free of charge. No pre-registration is needed for these activities:
- Friday:
- Learn some capoeira, kids class open to complete beginners
- Saturday:
- Panel discussion on festival theme
- Watch a baptismal ceremony where new belt promotions are awarded, followed by a formal capoeira roda with live music
- Sunday:
- Learn some capoeira, classes open to complete beginners (adults and teens)
- Afro-Brazilian Dance class
How does the “Our Life Giving Waters” Festival Relate to the Batizado?
We are exploring the interaction between the health of our bodies of water and the individuals depending on them, as well as vice versa.
The Berkeley Capoeira Collective applied for a Festival grant from The City of Berkeley with Fractured Atlas as a fiscal sponsor. This Cultural Arts Festival was planned to coincide with Batizado so the two events would complement the cultural richness of the other. On one hand, the festival events are open to the public and therefore also to batizado participants. At the same time, several activities of the batizado will provide spectators an exciting insights into Afro-Braizilian arts in practice.
What are your COVID precautions?
- Masks are optional. No judgements either way.