A toned butt and thigh muscles are among the perks you get from Capoeira, a centuries-old physical art forged by African slaves in Brazil who combined martial arts with dance and music.

Capoeira

Thanks to the good people at Esplanade, The UrbanWire had a chance to experience Capoeira in a dance session at Orchard Central’s Recognize! Studios on Oct 11.

Held in conjunction with their annual da:ns festival programme, What’s Your Move, the Esplanade Youth da:ns Crew is one of many Esplanade Youth initiatives to get more people excited about dance by learning simple steps from dance genres such as Capoeira, B-Boying, Street Jazz (Kids) and Charleston (Kids).

As we were beginners, the class learnt to tackle the 6 basic dance steps of Capoeira – Ginga, Melua, Esquiva, Bençao, Esquiva Trocada and the Aú under the patient guidance of members from the Zambiacongo Capoeira Group.

The dance group was first founded in Brazil in 1988 and has branches in Australia, Germany, Spain, Greece and Singapore.

With 70 members in Singapore currently, it is up to the seniors to share the dance moves they learn with the other members as they only have a grand master in Brazil and a master (mestre) in Australia who visit once a year.

One thing for sure, the health benefits are aplenty. According to British publication, the Guardian, 1 hour of Capoeira can burn off around 500 calories compared to perhaps, an average of 100 to 120 calories burnt when you run a mile on the treadmill according to Runner’s World. Plus, picking this art can build up “more flexibility, quicker reflexes, an improved sense of rhythm… confidence and self-esteem,” said a senior who asked to be called TK.

Watch TK give you a crash course on the 6 steps of Capoeira:

Once you’ve mastered these basic steps, you can try a sparring session or Roda (Hor-da), of your own, like the people from Zambiacongo Capoeira Group or ZCians as they are known in Singapore.

Here’s a glimpse of what a Roda looks like:

Said member, Gabriel Belloc, “Many MMA (mixed martial art) fighters incorporate Capoeira in their mix and many break dancers and hip hop dancers are also allowing Capoeira into their style,”

Ooi Hui Ann, an Esplanade Youth, also enjoyed the dance sessions on Monday.

“I’ve always thought Capoeira looked really interesting with all the cool moves, acrobatic stunts and fancy footwork. It was a different experience alright – good workout, got to learn the basic capoeira steps like the Ginja, kicking and blocking. I liked the sparring session that we got to witness at the end too.”

In case you think this sport seems too aggressive, it can also be graceful depending on your interpretation of the dance.

To learn a couple of Capoeira moves, and best of all, for free, just go down to Esplanade this weekend.

What’s Your Move include a series of mass dancesessions held at Esplanade’s Stage@Powerhouse along the waterfront.

Saturday Night Fever will feature the energetic and youthful dance styles of Capoeira and B-Boying, and you can even groove to the beat of Swing Dance and Argentine Tango on this coming Oct 15’s Friday I’m in Love, or Charleston (Kids) and Line Dance on Sunday Funday.

If you love dance, music, theatre and visual arts-related workshops, you can also sign up to be a part of Esplanade Youths at www.esplanadeyouths.com