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Brazil Today Capoeira: Brazilian Dance

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Brazil Today Capoeira: Brazilian Dance Non-fiction: Brazil Today – Capoeira: Brazilian Dance Brazil Today Capoeira: Brazilian Dance More than 400 years ago, African slaves in Brazil created Capoeira as a form of martial art.1 Martial arts, like karate, are used for self-defense. They combine balance and power into graceful moves. The word “martial” comes from Mars, the Roman god of war. The sports are “arts” because they require a lot of study and practice—like music, painting or any other art. Today, Capoeira combines dance moves into a game of fight. In Capoeira, the dancers form a circle, or “roda.” The musicians play from the bottom of the circle. The dancers often enter the circle with a cartwheel or flip. Then the game starts. Whirling, flipping, and pretending to fight without actually hurting each other, the men in the circle move around. The players flip and kick, interacting with headstands and handstands in a pattern. The music in Capoeira is very important. The music can make the dance seem like a friendly exercise or like a dangerous competition. Three different “berimbau” are used. A berimbau is an instrument shaped like a hunting bow. A stick is used to pluck the string. A hollow gourd at the bottom of the bow makes the sound reverberate.2 One of the berimbau plays low bass notes, the gunga. Medium notes are played by the medio. The rhythm of the music is plucked out on the berimbau. The viola plays the high notes and the melody--like the voice of a person singing a tune. Capoeira weaves through Brazilian history. No one knows exactly how it developed. People think that the dance came after a group of slaves escaped plantation life. They set up their own towns in the wilderness and were free to practice their own culture. For a while, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, 1 martial art: any of several arts of combat and self-defense (as karate and judo) that are widely practiced as a sport 2 reverberate: to continue like a series of echoes 1 © 2012 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved. Non-fiction: Brazil Today – Capoeira: Brazilian Dance Capoeira was outlawed.3 The Brazilian government feared its aggressive tone. Remember that it was modeled after martial arts! Back then, people would actually hurt each other. The government wanted to break up the strong cultural bond that African communities and former slaves shared. The dance was one of those bonds. Gradually, the government changed its policy. It began to see the sense of community and identity expressed by the game as a positive thing. Capoeira schools opened up. The dance became a philosophy.4 Now, even though soccer is more popular, Capoeira is the national sport of Brazil. 3 outlaw: to make illegal 4 philosophy: someone’s basic beliefs about the way people should live 2 © 2012 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved. Questions: Brazil Today – Capoeira: Brazilian Dance Name: ____________________________ Date:__________________________ 1. How are Karate and Capoeira similar? a. They are not similar at all. b. They are types of dance. c. They are types of music. d. They are martial arts. 2. The music is important because a. it can show if the Capoeira is a friendly exercise or a dangerous competition. b. the notes are very low. c. it gets the audience involved in friendly exercise and dangerous competition. d. music distracts the other person. 3. According to the passage, the gunga a. is a hollow gourd. b. plays low bass notes. c. plays medium notes. d. plays the melody. 4. Which of the following groups might want to use Capoeira to create a sense of community and identity? a. the customers of a local restaurant who want better service. b. the senior citizens at the Senior Center who enjoy playing cards. c. the boys at a local youth center who are interested in learning how to protect themselves. d. students who need to raise their test scores. 5. The passage “Capoeira” is mostly about a. the spread of martial arts in South America, including Brazil. b. the similarities between dancing and martial arts. c. the history of a Brazilian dance that is also a martial art. d. how music helps people fight. 3 © 2012 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved. Questions: Brazil Today – Capoeira: Brazilian Dance 6. Why did the Brazilian government outlaw Capoeira? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 7. How do Capoeira dancers enter the circle? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 8. The question below is an incomplete sentence. Choose the word that best completes the sentence. Capoeira is now the official sport of Brazil, ______ it was outlawed 100 years ago. a. also b. even though c. because d. during 9. Answer the following questions based on the sentence below. More than 400 years ago, African slaves in Brazil created Capoeira as a form of martial art. Who? African slaves Where? _________________________________________________________ (did) What? ______________________________________________________ (as) What? _______________________________________________________ When? __________________________________________________________ 10. Vocabulary Word: outlaw: to make illegal. Use the vocabulary word in a sentence: ________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 4 © 2012 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved. .
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