Xango Capoeira Singapore

Xango Capoeira Singapore teaches capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian practice that weaves self-defence together with music, dance and acrobatics, from its base at 235 Bishan Street 22, B1-144. The group states that it has carried the tradition in Singapore since 2011, founded under Mestre Luizinho Barravento, with a lineage reaching its headquarters on the Gold Coast in Australia and schools in Brisbane, Goiânia and France. Classes in Singapore are led by Instrutor Cantor, Graduado Manhoso, Graduada Rosa and Graduado Trânsito. Sessions are mixed-level, so no previous experience is expected, and both kids and adults have classes: adult sessions run on Tuesdays and Saturdays, with a Saturday class for kids. Music is not background here. Students learn the berimbau, pandeiro and atabaque and sing capoeira songs in Brazilian Portuguese, alongside movement, technique, sequences and conditioning for strength, core and balance. A first class costs $10 on the group's own site, and 4, 6 and 8-class packages are offered, each valid for 30 days from the first class. Each year the group holds its Batizado e Troca de Cordas, a grading festival where students receive a new cord.