Breakdancing roots in Capoera????

[Oso]

Can anyone confirm this?

I just had someone, a dancer at the professional level, tell me this.

I've never heard it and wikipedia's entry for breakdancing doesn't mention it unless I missed it

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Break_dancing

[David Jamieson]

Actually it derives from a combination of things, but has been predominantly noted as a furthermore that springs from american black culture.

When i say furthermore, I mean it like "Lindy Hop, jive and furthermore break dancing"

"break" coming from "dancing where there is a break in the music".

It's totally and american thang though. And yeah, capoiera may very well have had a part in it overall. although im pretty sure that early breakers were not into capoiera

[Shaolin Wookie]

No.

Capoeira began as Capoeira Angola, and later was modified into Regional. If you're familiar with high-flying, gymnastic, exciting capoeira, it's Regional. Regional is very fast. Angola is generally much slower, with fewer acrobatic techniques. Nevertheless, there's a lot of upside down movement. Regional was an adaptation of the Angola style, which became the capoeira most of us know, from Mestre Bimba. It is more like breakdancing than Angola, but even Regional predates b-boying and breakdancing. There are those cultural memes that pop up every now and then. Breakdancing was linked to hip hop, which was big in the African American community. Capoeira is an African/Afro-Brazilian art linked to certain instruments, but always with a beat and that same kind of groove. Breakdancing is kind of like capoeira in a way----it's showing off, it's in-your-face-you-got-served...LOL!....and it's about playfulness. But there's something in capoeira that isn't in breakdancing, but I can't put my finger on it but to say "interactive".

I say "no" to your student's supposition simply because capoeira is an art to itself. The beat of the berimbau and tambourine and drums determine the speed, agressiveness, etc. There's no b-boying or breakdancing. Then again, in a way, there is. Because many of the maneuvers in capoeira are purely aesthetic/artistic and done to a beat, and they're the same as the ones in breakdancing.

But if you take the soundtrack off of breakdancing and a capoeira reel, you'll never mistake them.

There are a couple of good capoeira books by Girard Taylor and one other old school guy (Mestre something-or-other) that were pretty good. They trace the art back to Carribean slave dances/knife fighting---the maculele (also the subject of a common song sung at a roda) and some others.

Still, I maintain there's no breakdancing in capoeira, and no capoeira in breakdancing. I think they're both cool, but they're different, both artistically and culturally.

[Oso]

Of course it derives from a combination of things.

I found this and it gives a West African root but that jumps a step before capoera as a Brazilian originating art form

http://faculty.weber.edu/chansen/hum...ight/intro.htm


Li’l Tim is cool

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blast/downloads..._bboying.shtml





ok, now I’m just trapped in the Web…

not all of this clip is al that but the very beginning is good and:


about 4:18 you can see where MJ stole all his moves

somebody tell me the song that’s playing at 5:20 and on…

http://pacocamino.blogspot.com/2008/...akdancing.html


and, ok, so this isn’t a new question by any means

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4XwO504Zz4



so,basically, there ain’t a **** thing new under this sun

[mickey]

Hi Oso,

Being from New York City, the home of breakdancing, I can answer your question. Movements from Capoeria were incorporated in breakdancing. I remember seing the Angola style here in the late seventies as well as advertisments for it in the mid seventies (it could have been here longer). And some of that style filtered into breakdancing.

I thought it was always common knowledge.

If you check for some of the early era breakdance footage, you will see the influence.



mickey

[TenTigers]

Wookie and Dj are incorrect-
you won't get this info from history books and wiki-you need to go to the source-the streets.
Breakdancing was developed in NYC-most of the B-Boyz were black inner city youths. Martial Arts as well as cultural arts were always taught in youth development centers, and Capoeria was very popular. The uprock is basically the jinga. Also, many youths spent alot of time in the triple feature Kung-Fu movies shown on 42nd st, and drew alot of the ground sweeps from there as well.

[David Jamieson]

this : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLpb4VKkfZE

was very cool, thanks for bring the attention to it Oso.