Mission

Our mission is to support the growth of capoeira and to see its community thrive. Through capoeira, we nurture the development in capoeiristas of confidence, self-knowledge, coordination, general fitness, musicality, cultural sensitivity, and respect for the acceptance of the diversity in all its forms.

values

we Show Up for Each Other and for Our Students

We perpetually nurture a culture of Appreciation, Honesty, Vulnerability, Embracing Complexity & Co-Navigation

We are all here to learn from each other. We deeply respect people’s time and service in capoeira, but do not equate expertise in capoeira with an intrinsic human superiority. Hierarchical structures can be of value, but we look at them with a critical eye. 

We are human and it is natural to make mistakes. We encourage honesty & vulnerability in speaking & hearing each other’s truth, even when it is hard.

We will look to equalize inherently imbalanced power dynamics whenever possible, and that is primarily the responsibility of the people with more power to effect change.

The capoeira community is co-navigating the future of our beloved artform and we strive to operate from a place of shared leadership and cooperation.

Love & Fear

We embrace fear in the roda and in our personal interactions.

We act in love for ourselves and our capoeira family.

We fearlessly protect each other and that does not necessarily mean taking sides, but looking for ways in which all will thrive.

Education and Service

We value: Slow and Steady, Quality over Quantity, Multiple Learning Styles, Many Paths to Destination

The educational team works to devise curriculae that are aligned with our values and mission.

To minimize natural biases, we work with learning rubrics to ensure student progress is evaluated on our values as a school, rather than our biases. That said, rubrics are just a tool and are subject to constant improvement.

We value teacher training – good teachers are created from a combination of experience and mentorship. We do not assume someone who can play capoeira well can teach effectively.

As capoeira was borne of the struggle for justice, we consider it essential that all our members understand how systems of oppression operate, how we perpetuate them, and how we can work to dismantle them, and create a space where all feel welcomed and safe.

Seventh Generation Thinking

We recognize that capoeira must evolve to survive — this is not compromise — capoeira has always evolved and it is therefore like capoeira to adapt and look critically at traditions that no longer serve us nor capoeira’s ability to grow.

We examine our decisions in how they might affect capoeiristas many generations from now.

We work in service to the future generation as well as in reverence to those who worked for us in the past. Honoring the past.

We strive to support the ability of teachers who wish to earn money teaching capoeira, as the sustainability of teachers supports the sustainability of capoeira as a whole.

~Axé