In Search of Legitimacy: How Outsiders Become Part of the Afro-Brazilian Capoeira Tradition (Dance and Performance Studies, 7)
ISBN: 9781785330636
$162.00
9781785330636
Every year, countless young adults from affluent, Western nations travel to Brazil to train in capoeira, the dance/martial art form that is one of the most visible strands of the Afro-Brazilian cultural tradition. In Search of Legitimacy explores why “first world” men and women leave behind their jobs, families, and friends to pursue a strenuous training regimen in a historically disparaged and marginalized practice. Using the concept of apprenticeship pilgrimage―studying with a local master at a historical point of origin―the author examines how non-Brazilian capoeiristas learn their art and claim legitimacy while navigating the complexities of wealth disparity, racial discrimination, and cultural appropriation.