THE CAPOEIRA
TRAINING CENTER
Promoting Martial Arts, Fitness and Community
About Us
FORMANDA JOY
Photo by Sophia Wallace
Joy San Agustin a.k.a “Coruja” began her Capoeira training with Grupo Capoeira Brasil. Though her home is New York City, Joy has spent significant time training in Brazil in places such as São Paulo, Aracaju, Salvador, and Rio de Janeiro. A talented martial artist, Joy has been a featured performer for Nike and Sony. Joy has also performed for non-profit organizations such as the Capoeira Foundation, Roots of Brazil, and Dance Connecticut in Hartford. In addition, Joy has been featured in numerous TV programs including “EGG” on PBS Channel 13, MNN (The Manhattan Neighborhood Network) and “A Capoeiragem na Bahia” on the Brazilian Network TVE. In addition to entertainment and media venues, Joy is often invited to bring her Capoeira talents to educational and cultural centers. Joy recently performed Capoeira at Middlebury College in Vermont, Penn Sate University and at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.
For five years, Joy has been a guest teacher at The Happen’n , an Annual Womyn’s World and Drum percussion workshop in the Catskill Mountains. An active member of the Capoeira community, Joy travels a great deal both in the US and abroad to play and to teach Capoeira. Some of the places she regularly travels to for Capoeira events in the US include Gainesville, Boston, Connecticut, Newark, St. Louis, San Antonio, Los Angeles, Berkley, San Diego and Houston. In Europe, Joy has been invited to play and teach in Paris, Nice, Marseilles, Brussels, the Canary Islands and Madrid. Joy completed her M.S. in Physical Education at Queens College.
Currently, Joy instructs all levels of Capoeira in Manhattan, and teaches Capoeira classes for the Brooklyn Technical H.S. and the New York City Board of Education. Joy also teaches children’s classes, which she finds extremely rewarding. Her children’s classes at this time include a youth program for Amplify.
GRUPO CAPOEIRA BRASIL
Grupo Capoeira Brasil, is dedicated to disseminating the rich culture and tradition of Capoeira. We practice a variation of Capoeira titled Capoeira Regional Contemporânea. Our style, derived from the movements and sequences defined by Mestre Bimba, reflect the evolutions and influences of the Mestres of Capoeira Brasil. We strive to maintain the integrity of the art, as well as support its evolution.
Mestre Boneco is one of three founding masters of Grupo Capoeira Brasil. He lives in Los Angeles where he is president and principle instructor of CBLA, the North American headquarters for Grupo Capoeira Brasil. Mestre Boneco is also the artistic director of Bencão Brasil, a non-profit Brazilian cultural organization that teaches and performs Capoeira throughout Southern California and offers training scholarships for under resourced youth.
MESTRE BONECO
Mestre Boneco began training Capoeira at the age of eleven with Grupo Senzala in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 1989, after 19 years of dedicated training, he was recognized for his outstanding achievement in the Capoeira community and awarded his black belt by a council of Brazil’s most distinguished masters. Mestre Boneco’s black belt is also recognized by the Brazilian Capoeira Federation. After receiving his black belt, Mestre Boneco, along with Mestres Paulinho Sabia and Paulão, founded Grupo Capoeira Brasil, an organization that would later become one of the largest Capoeira groups in the world.
Mestre Boneco’s 37 years of experience include teaching workshops in the world’s leading universities, presenting seminars and talks at many international fitness and cultural conferences, and the production of over 20 international Capoeira festivals. Today he supervises over 70 graduated instructors with programs in South and North America, Australia, Europe, and Asia. Mestre Boneco also supervises instructors teaching at UCLA, LMU, and Cal State LA as well as Capoeira projects in various Southern California public, private, and charter schools.
Mestre Boneco has been featured on CNN, FOX news, ABC, NBC, KTLA, Telemundo and Univision news shows. He was featured on “Extra Hollywood” and VH1’s “Hollywood’s Hardest Bodies.” In print, Mestre Boneco and his group have graced the pages of Men’s Fitness, SELF, and The Los Angeles Times. And in the entertainment industry, Mestre Boneco has choreographed and trained actors for various motion pictures, national commercials, and stage productions as well as developed his own team of Capoeira specialized stunt men.