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Keep Capoeira free in all it's aspects.
Capoeira is an Afro- Brazilian martial art developed by African slaves in Brazil, starting in the colonial
period. The slaves disguised the fight form as a dance with the intention to potentionally defend themselves against
the tyranny of the slaveowners.Capoeira is marked by deft, tricky movements often played on the ground or completely inverted.
It also has a strong acrobatic component in some versions and is always played with authentic music.
There are two main styles of capoeira that are clearly distinct. One is called Angola, which is characterized by
slow, low play with particular attention to the rituals and tradition of capoeira, in particular the disguise as some
type of dance. The other style is Regional (pronounced 'heh-jeeh-oh-nahl'), known for its fluid acrobatic play, where
technique and strategy are the key points. Both styles are marked by the use of attacks and counter-attacks, and use
groundwork extensively, as well as sweeps, kicks, and headbutts.
Our History
Capoeira Balance was started by Professor Fabiano
Lucas. He has been doing capoeira for 14 years and he has been teaching in Conneticut for 4 years.
Fabiano Aparecido Lucas
was born in Braganca Paulista, a small town in the interior of Sao Paulo, on April 30th,1980. Coming from a very poor family of three kids and a single mom, Fabiano had to start working at age 11 in
order to help support his family. He always had a passion for sports and tried a lot of different ones (always by charity
of others) like Judo, soccer, basketball and break dance. It was during his time of break dancing that he incidentally discovered
his love for capoeira.
His future mestre, Mestre Enir, one day invited Fabiano’s entire break dancing group,
which up until then practiced on the streets, to come to his academy on the weekends and practice there. They all of course
accepted and after the first weekend of their practice at his school, Mestre Enir invited Fabiano and a friend of his to try
capoeira for a month, free of charge. Fabiano accepted this offer with the intention to go a few times, practice backflips,
which he could use for his break dancing, and then stop capoeira. Little did he know that things will turn out to be quite
different. When he saw his first capoeira roda, it was love at the first sight.
He started
practicing capoeira in 1993 and hasn’t stopped since. Fabiano is two-times regional champion (1999 and 2002) of the
state of Sao Paulo and also the 2002 state champion. This qualified him to represent his state in the national championships,
but before he had a chance to compete, he was invited by Mestre Efraim to come to the United States and work there as a performer
and capoeira teacher. He accepted this invitation and in February of 2003 came to the United States.
Among
his various performances all around the country, Fabiano performed at the Museum of New York, the Brooklyn Museum, the CT
National Coast Guard, Foxwoods Casino and Mohegan Sun Casino Resorts. Since his arrival to the U.S., he’s also been
teaching capoeira at Yale University, University of Connecticut, Norwalk Community College and a variety of other schools
in the tri state area. Currently he is working in partnership with his friend Ja Shaia on a Capoeira Fitness video, in order
to offer a convenient way for beginners to discover the incredible world of capoeira and its infinite variety of benefits
for those who welcome capoeira into their lives.
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