Capoeira Classes in Santa Cruz, California

About Capoeira

Capoeira is a uniquely Brazilian art form of profound historical significance that simultaneously functions as a martial art, dance, acrobatics, music, game, and living cultural philosophy. Developed by enslaved Africans in Brazil who disguised self-defense training as dance and play to circumvent prohibition by slaveholders, Capoeira carries an extraordinary history of resistance, resilience, and cultural survival. Practitioners engage in a fluid improvised dialogue of attack and evasion — the jogo — within a ceremonial circle called the roda, accompanied by the hypnotic sound of the berimbau instrument alongside atabaque drum, pandeiro, and the sung verses of traditional Capoeira songs. Two primary styles — Capoeira Angola, the traditional ground-based form, and the more acrobatic Capoeira Regional — offer distinct pathways into the art. Capoeira develops extraordinary fitness, agility, musicality, and cultural awareness simultaneously and is practiced worldwide by students of all ages, backgrounds, and fitness levels. Find a Capoeira academy near you today.