OUR MESTRE

Mestre Jelon Vieira is a renowned citizen and pioneer of capoeira in the USA with over 50 years of in the art of capoeira  He founded Capoeira Luanda on April 6th, 2007, after a long process of research and study. Mestre has been personally instructed by the most defining of capoeiristas of the last century - the same who helped to establish or reinvent the fundamentals of the art, paving the path to the capoeira we play today: Mestre Bimba, Pastinha, Ezequiel, and Waldemar, among many others. A special compliment and enriching factor for our group, Mestre Jelon is a very sucessuful and international choreographer, inspired by Afro-Brazilian flavors, while mixing capoeira, contemporary Brazilian rhythms and other dances and sequences developed by Mestre Bimba, as well as the influences and advancements of capoeira. In 1993, he co-founded Ilê Bahia de San Antonio, a training center for at-risk, minority youth in African-Brazilian performing arts. He founded The Capoeira Foundation and DanceBrazil, the first organizations to bring traditional Afro-Brazilian dance and Capoeira to the United States over thirty years ago, and has devoted his life to sharing Afro-Brazilian culture with American audiences since 1977. 

In 2008, Mestre Jelon was awarded one of eleven National Heritage Fellowships, the country’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. He has taught capoeira to people of all ages and from all walks of life in Brazil and the USA, including famous figures such as soccer legend Pele, and actors Wesley Snipes and Eddie Murphy. Mr. Vieira spends several months a year in Brazil, where he teaches capoeira and works towards his long-term goal of opening a center for underprivileged children that uses capoeira to build self-esteem and self-discipline. He has taught in many residency workshops and has been a guest instructor at various universities and colleges, including Yale University, Columbia University, Stanford University, and Duke University. He has worked with several American dance companies and cultural institutes, such as Dance Theater of Harlem, Alvin Ailey, the Caribbean Cultural Center in New York, and the Carver Community Cultural Center in San Antonio, Texas. 

Ademercino Teles Tomé (Mestre Guerreiro), born in Miracema do Tocantins in Brazil, came to Goiânia in 1981 and started in Capoeira in 1988. His first teacher, Mestre Jacó, inspired him to develop and spread his passion for the art. In 1994, Mestre Guerreiro began training with Mestre Suíno of Grupo Candeias. During the next twelve years., Mestre Guerreiro's journey as a capoeirista was long, sometimes difficult, rich and diverse, including moving to Sao Paulo, Brazil to help expand the group, earning a degree in Physical Education, and becoming a Contramestre in 2001. 

In 2007, Mestre Guerreiro along with Mestre Apache partnered with Mestre Jelon Vieira to found our group Capoeira Luanda, with a focus on the pedagogical teaching of Afro-Brazilian culture and the development of children and adolescents in society. Always active in the capoeira environment, he had direct participation in the recording of several CD's and DV's of Capoeira. Currently, C/ Mestre Guerreiro teaches Capoeira in schools and academies in Goiânia for children from one and a half years old, in addition to training new Capoeira instructors who have jobs in various city halls in the States of: Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Goiás, thus maintaining various social projects in the educational, sports and cultural fields. In 2013, he had the honor of being formally recognized with the title of Mestre. Today, Mestre Guerreiro is based in Goiania, Goias in Brazil where he continues his work in what is  known affectionately as the Barracao, the heart of Capoeira Luanda in Brazil. He leads and supervises capoeiristas across multiple states in Brazil, and internationally. He is internationally recognized for the great work he has been doing in his career. Mestre Guerreiro has been to several European countries giving courses and lectures on Capoeira, presenting the work he has been developing during his 20 years in Capoeira.