World Day 2011

This weekend I had the opportunity to visit World Day at Hunter Park on Lansing's East Side. I've heard about this event over the years, but never made a point to go until now...and WOW was I glad I did! Not only did I get a chance to eat great food, browse beautiful hand-made crafts and experience traditional music performances, I also got to try a fascinating fusion of martial arts and dance, taught by Lansing's own resident troupe of the discipline.

Capoeira Mandinga is an intoxicating blend of movements that borrows from dance, martial arts, acrobatics, and the magical. I've only seen it practiced on-screen until Saturday, and seeing very real bodies float and fly onstage was awesome. Like any practiced athlete, they made it look so easy, never giving a hint of the immense muscle control it requires to accomplish such feats with such grace. Even still, I couldn't help myself from trying a few moves when the group gave a 'hands-on' demo later in the afternoon.

With a recenlty broken camera, I can't post a pic of me doing any Capoeira, but here's a really cool video to see some exceptionally talented capoeiristas doing their stuff from YouTube.