Capoeira is a Brazilian art form with African roots. It was developed in Brazil during the colonial period. After the invasion of Brazil's land around 1494 the Portuguese began to enslave the indigenous population, but the barbaric idea of slavery was frustrated as most of the indigenous people died as a result of living in captivity and being exposed to diseases carried by the Portuguese.

A decade later African slaves were brought in to work in the Portuguese colony. Capoeira was used by Africans as a means of defence in their fight against oppression. They worked day after day and at night they would rest in places called senzalas (slave camps), where they cried out in sorrow, they sang, they danced and they prayed. These rituals helped them to become one force and the senzalas were to become the centre of their liberation struggle.

Many of the captives used the art to escape into the interior of the Brazilian jungle, where, together with the native peoples, they set up communities called "Quilombos"; the greatest of these being the "Quilombo of Palmares", which lasted 67 years.

After the so-called emancipation of the slaves in 1888, the people were thrown out onto the streets. The slaves were refused compensation for their mistreatment. It was here on the streets where Capoeira was once more used by the underprivileged as a means of survival.

In 1936 Capoeira was officially recognised by the Brazilian administration as part of Brazil's inherited culture. The first Capoeira school officially opened in 1936 by Master Bimba, who was to be revered and admiredas one of the fathers of modern day Capoeira, having developed one of the two styles of Capoeira "Regional". Capoeira "Angola" is a traditional style, which maintains the traditional ritual and cultural essence of the slave art, promoted by Angola Master Vicente Ferreira Pastinha in his life's work.

Capoeira brings together music, song, dance and fight in a lively , vibrant and visually exiting spectacle of movements and sound. Capoeira is a philosophy and a way of life which includes the quest for physical, cultural and spiritual liberation.