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Capoeira St. Louis is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit
organization dedicated to the growth and development of Capoeira
(Afro-Brazilian art form) in the St. Louis community.
Capoeira St. Louis was formed in 2000 with the help of
Mestre Jelon Vieira. Capoeira St. Louis has and will
continue to perform in the many cultural and international festivals
around the St. Louis community. The organization also provides
Capoeira workshops to the local schools and youth
programs.
Capoeira St. Louis started as a small no name
group in the St. Louis area getting together and trying to learn the
art of Capoeira on their own. We soon discovered that this was a
very cultural art form and that without someone from Brazil with a
background in the art this would be impossible. So we started
to travel to various Capoeira workshops around the United States to
get whatever knowledge we could about Capoeira. Then we met
Mestre Jelon
Vieira, renowned dance choreographer and
Master of Capoeira. We worked with Mestre Jelon to form
Capoeira St. Louis and acquired one of Mestre’s top
students Professor Borracha. At first we started with about
fifteen members and rented small training spaces around the St.
Louis community. We then started training on the St. Louis
University campus. St. Louis University was kind enough to
provide us with a free space to help us grow. Through the help
of St. Louis University we were able to grow our
membership. As a result of this growth we were able to lease
our own studio at 1317 Washington Ave. in downtown St. Louis back in
2002. We stayed at that location for about 3 years. We
have now combined forces with World Arts of St.
Louis (founded by David Holcomb).
Now we are located in a wonderful studio in Hazelwood,
MO.
Capoeira St. Louis
has performed at a variety of events in the St. Louis
Community. Some of these events include “Fair St. Louis July
2, 2000”, “International Banquet March 29, 2002 at Washington
University (200 spectators)”, “1st Annual International Street Fair
Edwardsville, IL Sept. 2002 (500 spectators)”, Founder’s Day
diversity workshops at Nerinx Hall April 26, 2002 (60 attendees)”,
“Black Dance USA at COCA May 19-25 2003 (40 attendees)”, “Better
Family Life Lock In at Monsanto YMCA November 21, 2003 (50
attendees)”, “Thurtene Carnival April 16th and 17th 2005 (200
spectators)”, “Mid-County YMCA International Dinner April 16, 2005
(150 spectators)”, “Black Dance USA at COCA May 25-29 2005 (60
attendees)”, “Marquette High School Multi-Cultural Festival May 2005
(500 spectators)”, “Celebrate the World in Maryland Heights 2005
(700 spectators)”, “Taste of Central West End 2005 (250
spectators)”, “Hazelfest in Hazelwood 2005 (200 spectators)”,
“Washington University fund raiser for hunger 2005” (100
spectators), “Fund raising event at St. Alexius Hospital-Jefferson
Campus 2005 (50 spectators)”, “Chinese International Arts Center
2005 (100 spectators)”, “Ferguson Street Festival 2005 (250
spectators)”, “Fund raising event at Sqwires 2005 (100 spectators)”,
“Show Me Sun Splash 2005 (500 spectators)”, “Earth Day at Forest
Park every year since 2001” and many more. Capoeira St.
Louis also appeared live on Fox 2 News in the morning in 2005.
Please contact us for a performance or
workshop at your next
event.
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