While many Fowler Out Loud events have an obvious appeal to a college audience ““ like the UCLA jazz band ““ tonight will see a program embracing something a bit more niche.
Billed as an evening of “music, movement and oral wisdom” to “unmask the essence of objective reality,” the Mpevula Coalition will host “The Jazz Capoeira Sunset Roda” ““ a pairing of Brazil’s capoeira dancing with modern jazz performance ““ at the Fowler Museum tonight. The performance is the second of three installments in the “Inner Peace with Love Dance Exchange” series at Fowler.
Capoeira is a Brazilian tradition that evolved as a form of civil disobedience, allowing slaves to surreptitiously teach each other martial arts under the safe guise of dance. Music was used to aid the rhythm of the art, allowing it to seem benign. Once Brazilian authorities realized its potentially violent nature, it predictably became a punishable offense.
In line with their mission statements of cultural reconciliation, “The Jazz Capoeira Sunset Roda” embraces the dance elements and removes the violence of this tradition.
“Roda,” or “circle” in Portuguese, refers to the circular formation of participants in capoeira, where spectators, musicians and dancers all interact fluidly.
The Mpevula Coalition’s name derives from a Kikongo word meaning “spiritual victory.” The group is a relatively new campus organization comprised of graduate students in the World Arts and Cultures department.
“We came together to raise funds and awareness for the promotion of events and arts practices that go beyond the common understanding of performance and show,” said Wesley Days, a member of the Coalition who also teaches in the World Arts and Culture department.
According to Days, the Coalition aims to provide a platform for open dialogue within UCLA and the larger community, and to use cultural intersections to create art rather than conflict.
“The Jazz Capoeira Sunset Roda” plans to replace a dialogue of resistance and oppression with one of cultural and artistic expression, creating a conversion of conflictive energy. The Coaliton is dedicated to this process.
“We have focused on music, movement and ritual theater practices that contribute to community building,” Days said.
The Coalition’s program conflates forms, cultures and influences at the second of its three performances of the spring quarter.
“”˜The Jazz Capoeira Sunset Roda’ will bring jazz musicians and capoeira from all over the city, state and world together to highlight the role that artists play in the transformation of conflict,” Days said.
By combining the loaded art of capoeira with jazz, the tradition of violent difference vested in its origins is subverted by one of celebration and commemoration of history, allowing for the open dialogue which the Mpevula Coalition is hoping to foster.
The performance will feature the East Babylon Symphony, lead by Eugene Baylon Jaceldo. The capoiera will be lead by the Capoeira Angola Center of Los Angeles.
The Mpevula Coalition’s final installment of its Fowler Out Loud series is scheduled for May 21 in Kaufman Hall.