Dancing or fighting?

Story by photos by Vanessa White

The crowd was large even before the beating of the atabaque drum. Gathered on the steps in the lobby of the Alumni College Center at Plattsburgh Sate University, people impatiently fidgeted while trying to find a comfortable position in the cramped quarters. 

Those who had cameras readied them as people who had neighboring shoulders exchanged words of what they anticipated was to come of the event. Passer-bys lingered in gaze but kept walking as folks in white robes formed a semi-circle in front of the Campus Express store.

Boom-pat-BOOM-boom! The sound of the atabaque drum broke necks as Express patrons peered through the glass for clarification of the vibration felt. The white-robed participants began to sway from left to right, almost in the form of a two-step, as a harmonious chant exited their lips.

The chant was accompanied by the sounds of the berimbau, the padeiro, and the go-go instruments. All of this captivated the crowd, for there was silence except for a few joyous whoops and hollers as spectators on the steps began to feel the vibes given off by the music.

Two people, one from each side of the band members, met in front of the berimbau players. They bent a knee, clasped both of their hands together, released and then did somewhat of a cartwheel before engaging in what looked like a dance battle. Their steps were synchronized: the right foot crossed over the left then the left foot dropped back, as both arms swung in a circular motion from the chest to the waste. One of the robed figures demonstrated a high kick as the opposition leaned back with elbows up to avoid and/or block the hit. Once the high kick was complete, the opponent dropped to both of her hands and slid her foot on the tile, attempting to knock him off balance. He turned his body a complete 360 as he stepped back away from her.

This was the first time I had ever seen capoeira, although this was Plattsburgh State’s second annual Capoeira Club Batizado, or baptism where some participants were competing for upward advancement in rank and a darker hue in belt. Plattsburgh State students were joined by the capoeira group from Montreal, Equipe Capoeira Brasileira and Mestre Penina.

It was difficult to determine whether or not the participants were dancing or fighting. Men were against men, men against women, and women against women; all in sync with the rhythm of the music. Every so often, someone would get knocked over and owned by a kick to the dome. It was all love though. After the “loser” was confirmed by number of times unable to attain balance, the two opponents embraced and another couple appeared in the middle of the semi-circle.

There was a point in the show when participants would cut in, like at a dance when someone wants to boogie with someone else’s partner. This was done cordially with the person wishing to cut in facing the participant they wanted to battle and asserting their presence by placing their lead foot and arm between the two opponents.

It was especially appealing to witness Penina battle a few of the more advanced students. He did moves that resembled a break dancer in his attempts to avoid kicks, both high and low. A few of the members would flip backwards or perform quick handstands as they skillfully evaded contact with their “attackers.” The movements were smooth and made to look simple, but there was no doubt a decent amount of work put into practice and perfection of the maneuvers.

This was evidenced toward the end of the battle when audience members were invited to participate. Those who desired moved into the formed semi-circle and awaited their turns. When it was time to prove themselves, they appeared out of their league but they maintained and it paid off. There were cookies available for all at the end of the event and the band members broke into a samba routine, enticing the rest of the audience members to join the group in samba dancing.

All Points North gives the annual Capoeira Club Batizado a five out of five rating.

Will you consider Capoeira as recreation?