CAPOEIRA NOTTINGHAM - CORDÃO DE OURO
The Nottingham Capoeira Community
Capoeira has been in Nottingham since 2001, first introduced by our group's master, Contra-Mestre Papa-Léguas. We are part of the worldwide group Cordão de Ouro, meaning 'belt of gold', which was established by Mestre Suassuna and Mestre Brasilia in São Paulo in 1967.
Cordão de Ouro Nottingham is a Community Interest Company dedicated to the promotion of afro-Brazilian culture, and in particular Capoeira: its health, social and educational benefits. We run regular classes for adults and children in the Nottingham city centre, as well as working regularly in various school, college, university and community environments.
Our group is a diverse community of friends who have met through Capoeira. We enjoy getting together socially as well as training throughout the week.
The group holds regular workshops with world-class masters of Capoeira throughout the year. Once a year we hold our 'Batizado', which is a grading and celebration. Earlier this year we celebrated our 11th anniversary by inviting masters from all over the globe to come and give special classes for us. For images of this event and other recent workshops, please visit our 'Media' page.
We also have branches in Birmingham, Derby and Sheffield. For information on each of the groups in these cities, please click on the city name to go to their individual websites.
Our Teacher: Instructor Tatu
Born in 1984 in Belper, Derbyshire, England. Tatu has been training Capoeira since 2001, under the guidance of Contra-Mestre Papa-Léguas of group Cordão de Ouro. He has been teaching in Nottingham since 2008, leading the Nottingham group, as well as running one-off workshops and regular clubs in the many schools, colleges and universities of Nottingham.
Our Master: Contra-Mestre Papa-Léguas
Born in 1981 in Patos de Minas, Minas Gerais, Brazil. He started Capoeira at the tender age of 14 in Patos de Minas, where he trained under the tutelage of Mestre Chicote. Once graduated as an Instructor he decided, in the year 2000, to move to London where, with the help of Professors Rilene and Rejane from the Group Amazonas Capoeira, he started to give his first classes in the UK.
Soon he moved to the East Midlands, teaching in Burton on Trent for a short time, before in 2001 he moved again, this time to Nottingham, where he established his group, Cordão de Ouro Nottingham.
His work started to grow and in 2004 he opened the first Cordão de Ouro Academy in the UK. Since then Cordão de Ouro Nottingham has continued to grow, to include classes in schools and universities. In November 2008 he moved to Crete, to open up another branch of Cordão de Ouro in Heraklion, handing over the Nottingham group to two of his leading graduated students, Instructors Tatu and Tatanka.
In January 2012 he returned to Patos de Minas, Brasil, to set up a new Capoeira Academy in his home town. From there he continues to co-ordinate his groups in Nottingham, Birmingham, Derby, Sheffield, and Norwich, and in Heraklion (Crete), Jakarta and Surabaya (Indonesia), and Kyiv (Ukraine).
Soon he moved to the East Midlands, teaching in Burton on Trent for a short time, before in 2001 he moved again, this time to Nottingham, where he established his group, Cordão de Ouro Nottingham.
His work started to grow and in 2004 he opened the first Cordão de Ouro Academy in the UK. Since then Cordão de Ouro Nottingham has continued to grow, to include classes in schools and universities. In November 2008 he moved to Crete, to open up another branch of Cordão de Ouro in Heraklion, handing over the Nottingham group to two of his leading graduated students, Instructors Tatu and Tatanka.
In January 2012 he returned to Patos de Minas, Brasil, to set up a new Capoeira Academy in his home town. From there he continues to co-ordinate his groups in Nottingham, Birmingham, Derby, Sheffield, and Norwich, and in Heraklion (Crete), Jakarta and Surabaya (Indonesia), and Kyiv (Ukraine).
Our Grand-Master: Mestre Suassuna
Mestre Suassuna (full name Reinaldo Ramos Suassuna] was born in 1938 in Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil. He is the co-founder and head of the international Capoeira organization Cordão de Ouro; which was established in 1967 in São Paulo.
The teacher of many of the world’s most respected Capoeira Masters, Grande-Mestre Suassuna is also renowned for developing the game of Miudinho: a way of playing Capoeira close to your opponent, sometimes in a tight space- a game rich in movement and interaction, playfulness and expression.
Group Cordão de Ouro is one of the most famous, respected and popular Capoeira groups in the world, with schools open across the world, from the USA to Israel, Russia to India, Japan to Indonesia and all across western Europe.
The teacher of many of the world’s most respected Capoeira Masters, Grande-Mestre Suassuna is also renowned for developing the game of Miudinho: a way of playing Capoeira close to your opponent, sometimes in a tight space- a game rich in movement and interaction, playfulness and expression.
Group Cordão de Ouro is one of the most famous, respected and popular Capoeira groups in the world, with schools open across the world, from the USA to Israel, Russia to India, Japan to Indonesia and all across western Europe.
