Mestre Jelon Vieira
Encyclopedia
Jelon Vieira is a Brazil
ian choreographer and teacher who, in 2000, achieved recognition by New York City
's Brazilian Cultural Center as a pioneer in presenting to American
audiences the fro-Brazi and he Loremil Machado became the first artists to bring traditional Afro-Brazilian artistic endeavors to the United States. For over a quarter century, as the founder and artistic director of The Capoeira Foundation, Vieira has guided the dance company, DanceBrazil
through critically acclaimed engagements across the United States, including performances at Spoleto Festival USA
, the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center. The company has also toured in Europe, Asia and Brazil and has been featured on the PBS documentary series, EGG, the Arts Show
and Alive from Off-Center.
Vieira has worked with numerous major cultural institutions, including NYC's C and San Antonio's Carver Community Cultural Center. In 1999, City Lore
, a New York City community organization, inducted him into its Hall of Fame for lifetime contribution. In addition to his solo performances and works for DanceBrazil, his choreographic credits include the films Brenda Starr
, Rooftops, and Boomerang.
For Times Square 2000, the globally televised, multinational 24-hour dance marathon in New York City, Vieira was chosen to create the only Brazilian performance. He has been a guest master teacher at Yale University
, Oberlin College
, Columbia University
, Princeton University
, Stanford University
and other institutions.
In 2000, he was the Bacardi
Distinguished Visiting Eminent Scholar at the University of Florida
in Gainesville
. He has taught Capoeira to legendary footballer Pelé
and American movie stars Wesley Snipes
and Eddie Murphy
. Snipes, himself a top martial arts practitioner, has described Vieira as one of "the masters of the martial arts of the 20th century".
Upon returning to Brazil, in his home community of Boca do Rio, a bairro
of the nation's third-largest city, Salvador
, Vieira continues to teach children and young adults the art of Capoeira to build self-esteem, instill self-discipline and raise social consciousness while at the same time becoming a vital part of their own community. In 2007, after having devoted many years to Grupo Capoeira Brasil, he founded Grupo Capoeira Luanda
.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian choreographer and teacher who, in 2000, achieved recognition by New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Brazilian Cultural Center as a pioneer in presenting to American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
audiences the fro-Brazi and he Loremil Machado became the first artists to bring traditional Afro-Brazilian artistic endeavors to the United States. For over a quarter century, as the founder and artistic director of The Capoeira Foundation, Vieira has guided the dance company, DanceBrazil
DanceBrazil
DanceBrazil is an American dance company based out of New York City which presents works based upon the dance and music of the Brazilian culture. The company particularly excells in performances of works from the Afro-Brazilian artistic movement, particularly capoeira, and contemporary dances...
through critically acclaimed engagements across the United States, including performances at Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the world's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish a counterpart to the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy...
, the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center. The company has also toured in Europe, Asia and Brazil and has been featured on the PBS documentary series, EGG, the Arts Show
EGG, the Arts Show
EGG, the arts show was an American nonfiction television program that aired on PBS from 2000 to 2003. EGG documented both the famous and the unusual aspects and projects of classical and modern arts; its narrator was Elaine Stritch....
and Alive from Off-Center.
Vieira has worked with numerous major cultural institutions, including NYC's C and San Antonio's Carver Community Cultural Center. In 1999, City Lore
City Lore
City Lore: the New York Center for Urban Culture was founded in 1986 - the first organization in the United States devoted expressly to the "documentation, preservation, and presentation of urban folk culture." Their mission is to produce programs and publications that convey the richness of New...
, a New York City community organization, inducted him into its Hall of Fame for lifetime contribution. In addition to his solo performances and works for DanceBrazil, his choreographic credits include the films Brenda Starr
Brenda Starr (film)
Brenda Starr is a 1989 adventure film, based on Dale Messick's Brenda Starr comic strip. The film was directed by Robert Ellis Miller, and stars Brooke Shields, Timothy Dalton, and Diana Scarwid.-Plot:...
, Rooftops, and Boomerang.
For Times Square 2000, the globally televised, multinational 24-hour dance marathon in New York City, Vieira was chosen to create the only Brazilian performance. He has been a guest master teacher at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and other institutions.
In 2000, he was the Bacardi
Bacardi
Bacardi is a family-controlled spirits company, best known as a producer of rums, including Bacardi Superior and Bacardi 151. The company sells in excess of 200 million bottles per year in nearly 100 countries...
Distinguished Visiting Eminent Scholar at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
in Gainesville
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
. He has taught Capoeira to legendary footballer Pelé
Pelé
However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
and American movie stars Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...
and Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
. Snipes, himself a top martial arts practitioner, has described Vieira as one of "the masters of the martial arts of the 20th century".
Upon returning to Brazil, in his home community of Boca do Rio, a bairro
Bairro
Bairro is a Portuguese word and refers to a community or region within a city or municipality. Bairros exist in the majority of large cities in the world. Related words in English include neighborhood, district, borough or subdivision...
of the nation's third-largest city, Salvador
Salvador, Bahia
Salvador is the largest city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Salvador is also known as Brazil's capital of happiness due to its easygoing population and countless popular outdoor parties, including its street carnival. The first...
, Vieira continues to teach children and young adults the art of Capoeira to build self-esteem, instill self-discipline and raise social consciousness while at the same time becoming a vital part of their own community. In 2007, after having devoted many years to Grupo Capoeira Brasil, he founded Grupo Capoeira Luanda
Luanda
Luanda, formerly named São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and its administrative center. It has a population of at least 5 million...
.
External links
- Jelon Vieira on The Egg