Nego Gato Music & Dance of Brazil March 3, 2007 Tickets - $23/$10 ages 18 and under

“They came in pairs, with back flips to handstands, hyper extended headstands, head slides and a crackling thunderstorm of roundhouse kicks.”- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Nego Gato’s performances bring the colorful beauty, rich historical legacy and explosive power of Afro-Brazilian drum and dance to audiences throughout the United States. Company found and principal artist Jose Sena, known professionally as Nego Gato (Black Cat), is a master of the martial art, Capoeira, as well as a composer, percussionist, choregrapher and dancer.

A performance by Nego Gato Music and Dance includes some feats of unbelievable athleticism, as well as music and dance, mostly through Capoeira. Capoeira is an incredible martial art form created by enslaved Africans in Brazil. Appearing to be dance, Capoeira allowed the participants to practice fighting moves in full view. Mestre Nego Gato teaches Capoeira, which includes learning of the music, instruments, and philosophies of the art form as well as the acrobatic movements, attacks and defenses, eventually mastering the flips, high kicks and acrobatics for which Mestro Nego Gato and Capoeira is renowned. Their performances including the elaborate costumes found only in Bahia, the machete-wielding Maculela, a dance created by their ancestors enslaved in Brazil as well as the music which incorporates elements of samba reggae, afroxe and Afro-Jazz.

This company has performed at such venues as The Kennedy Center and with artists such as Oludum. They are very involved in arts-empowerment activities with youth in Washington, D.C. and Pittsburgh.

This concert is sponsored in part by the Performing Arts Fund, a program of Arts Midwest funded by the National Endowment for the Arts with additional contributions from General Mills Foundation, Land O’Lakes Foundation, and the Illinois Arts Council.

Related Links:
http://www.negogato.org

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