Workshop of Afro-Brazilian Samba and Capoeira from Backland Bahia, Brazil

Please join us for this special opportunity to participate in a workshop led by Rita Eloá Gonçalves Lantyer and Luma Gonçalves Lantyer, expert practitioners of the Afro-Brazilian “rural samba” music-dance form and the Afro-Brazilian fight-game capoeira Angola. This is a lecture-demonstration and workshop hosted and translated by Dr. Esther Viola Kurtz, Assistant Professor in the Department of Music, who worked closely with Rita and Luma on the ethnographic research for her recently published book, A Beautiful Fight: The Racial Politics of Capoeira in Backland Bahia (2025).

Rita and Luma will talk about the significance of capoeira Angola and rural samba for the Black Movement, Brazil’s movement for racial justice. They will also discuss related topics such as the significant leadership roles played by Black women in Bahia’s activist communities and the challenges and triumphs women experience practicing male-dominated art forms.

The immersive workshop and lecture-demonstration will be an example of participatory ethnography in action, allowing attendees to learn about the artists’ experiences, traditions, and activism as they participate in the art forms they are learning about. Please come in comfortable clothes, prepared to move. No previous dance or music experience necessary.

Support

Co-sponsored by:
Performing Arts Department
American Culture Studies
African and African American Studies
Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Equity
Romance Languages and Literatures