Stick Dance Workshop

Maculele is a fast and free form dance .... 

.... in the character of the peaceful warrior. It can be a contest in the playful use of repetitive high achieving athleticism. In group we choreograph an environment to hold energy levels high. We then work with improvisation to achieve greater levels of personal performance, and dynamic group responses to struggle scenario.

The Stick Grima dance could also be done with machetes or even fire. Strike one time in every 4 counts. On the one connect outwards (eye contact, peripheral viewing of the whole scene). On the other 3 counts be is free to do whatever you want. We do storylines of warrior platoons roaming the landscape for freedom and oppression. We aim towards our roots for access to ancestral knowledge and responses. 

In Afro Brazilian expression the stick dance originated in the sugarcane plantations, during slavery where the practice of martial arts were prohibited.  In camoflage the enslaved used dance to practice and in preparation for rebellion. As much as Maculele is a liberation art, it is also recreation, work accessory, and the preservation of culture and ancestrial knowledge; Also therapy as the loose and free movements could release the taut muscles of those who harvested the cane crops all day.