Dubai: ‘Respect for all,’ smiles Fernando Dias when asked to explain Capoeira.
“It is a fight form and a dance form at the same time — it can be theatre or acrobatics or even a tool for fitness. Capoeira is magic and it can be different things for different people. It all depends on what one makes of it,” said Dias, 32, a renowned exponent of this Brazilian form of martial arts.
The first-ever International Capoeira Festival is scheduled here on Thursday-Friday at the Skydive Dubai, venue of the just-concluded World Parachuting Championship.
Dias, who agreed for a photo shoot at the Gulf News studios alongwith pupil Kristina ‘Cristal’ Sharygina to show some of the moves, said: “At the moment, Capoeira is practised in more than 100 countries worldwide and its popularity is growing very fast.”
Capoeira is a Brazilian art that combines elements of dance and music. It is said to have originated in Brazil through the descendants of African slaves with Brazilian native influences during the start of the 16th century. It is known for its quick complex moves using mainly power, speed and leverage for leg sweeps. And the Brazilian was here to explain what exactly it means to him and millions across the globe.
Tradition has it that all Capoeira exponents need to go by a nickname. A keen follower of Capoeira from the time he was 12, Dias chose ‘Professor Garnize’ (or Prof Rooster in English) as his nickname and travelled to Holland where he spent four years.
The lure of Dubai beckoned and Prof Garnize landed here first in February this year. He already has a bunch of 25 students who meet three times a week (Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday) and train at their base at Skydive Dubai at the foot of The Palm Jumeirah.
“I have come here on a mission and I see myself as an ambassador for Capoeira in this part of the world. I want to popularise Capoeira and the best way to do this is to start by introducing it at the school level,” he says.
Plans are also afoot to have a permanent gymnasium at the Skydive Dubai drop zone so that Capoeira has a more permanent positioning in the UAE.
“We have a good example of Jiu-Jitsu in the UAE. No one knew about it and now it is popular,” he explained.
Asked how would he like to see Capoeira at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Dias said: “We desperately need to have Capoeira in some form at the Olympics.”
Going by the way it was presented by one of the leading sponsors during the London 2012 in an effort to showcase Brazilian culture, Rio will certainly have a lot to do with the sport.
