Capoeira Aché Brasil

It’s a dance…no, it’s a martial art…actually, it’s both!

Capoeira Aché Brasil Academy manager Christianne Odehnal explains: “Capoeira is a Brazilian art form that was developed by the slaves in Brazil, about 400 years ago. While they were in captivity, they were not allowed to learn a martial art, of course, so the slaves disguised it as a dance.”

Christianne calls this practice “one of the most beautiful and exotic martial arts in the world,” and watching pupils move around this East Van studio you’d be hard pressed to disagree. Students leap and swing with their legs, ducking and swooping in time to rhythms and chants, all with an infectious energy.

Capoeira is an art form that seems as joyful as it is aggressive, as much about celebration as it is about power. Like other martial arts, it’s also about character and behaviour in the larger world. “The way you play Capoeira reflects how you are inside and how you are in the world,” Christianne says. “It shows who you are, like a mirror.”