Capoeira Contemporanea

The capoeira contemporânea style was primarily developed by Grupo Senzala in Rio de Janeiro during the 1960s. This style heavily influenced capoeira regional, and most of the groups called “regional” today are actually much closer to contemporânea than to Mestre Bimba’s original capoeira regional (which used a very particular and specific teaching method).

Often Angola and Regional are distinct styles. Anything that does not fall into these two categories are Contemporânea. Some contemporânea groups try to merge elements of angola and regional into a single style; others practice each one separately depending on what rhythm the bateria is playing.

To be regional school, schools should be teaching stylistically as Mestre Bimba taught. The vast majority of schools today either fall into Angola or Contemporânea for this reason.

Contemporary capoeira emerged during the 1970s , with a mixture of the two previous styles. Here, Angola's characteristic elements can be seen, such as acrobatics and theatricality, as well as regional elements, such as greater agility and precision of movements.

Traditionalists would say: True Regional is taught using the methods of Mestre Bimba. The Sequencias de Bimba as well as the Cintura Desprezada. True Regional also uses a type of Bateria called a Charanga. Two Pandeiros and one Berimbau. Anything more than that and it is not pure Regional. In reality the lines are much more blurry of course. But a Charanga without additional instruments is a pretty good indicator for a group that wants to be traditional Regional.