performances and workshops

Who We Are

Grupo Axé Capoeira has shared the rich traditions and flair of Afro-Brazilian culture worldwide since 1982 and in the Greater Chicago Area for over 20 years.

Axé Capoeira Chicago will travel anywhere in the greater Chicago area and beyond. We have performed as far north as Upper Peninsula Michagan and as far south as Southern Indiana. Axé Capoeira Chicago adds excitement and enthusiasm to any event with colorful costumes, beautiful dances, Afro-Brazilian rhythms, and amazing acrobatics. Axé Capoeira Chicago only performs to live music that we provide, which is included in every performance.

Each performance is a full stage production, built around your event—duration, distance, number of performers, and the specific elements you want all shape the show. We’re built for full-scale bookings: weddings, corporate events, and university or cultural programs looking for a complete production, not a quick walk-around act.

Fill out our form to book your event! If you’re looking for one or two performers for a smaller gathering, we may not be the right fit, but we’re happy to point you toward someone who is.

what we've done

Weddings

- - Dinner Receptions
  - Ceremonies

Film Promotion

- - The Karate Kid
  - Rio

Corporate Events

- - Macy’s
  - Carnivale
  - Six Flags
  - Unilever
  - Pepsi

University & Local School Cultural Events

- - Columbia College
  - DePaul University
  - Northwestern University
  - Northern Illinois University (NIU)
  - The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)
  - Western Illinois University
  - Northeastern Illinois University
  - Lake Forest College
  - Purdue University
  - Indiana University
  - …and countless Local Schools (Elementary thru High school)

Capoeira

Capoeira (cap-o-ay-ra) is a unique, interdisciplinary Brazilian art form combining acrobatics, dance, martial arts and passionate Afro-Brazilian music. The performance will contain capoeira solos and duplas (pairs) done within and capoeira roda (ring) which will delight audiences with their dazzling movements

Maracatu

Maracatu is a parade style performance with a drumming group and a coterie of dancers and stock characters including the king and queen. Dancers and stock characters dress and behave to imitate the Portuguese royal court of the Baroque period. The performance also enacts pre-colonial African traditions, like parading the calunga, a doll representing tribal deities and Orixas – traditional Afro-Brazilian goddesses. Traditionally seen during Carnaval in Pernambuco, northeast Brazil, it’s one of the most colorful and elaborate performances.

Samba

Samba (sahm-bah) is one of the most popular and well-known dances from Brazil. The Samba music rhythm has been danced in Brazil since its inception in the late 19th century. Featuring a highly contagious rhythm, samba is usually seen during Carnaval and Mardi Gras celebrations around the world, featuring dancers wearing state-of-the-art costumes, decorated with feathers and rhinestones.

Dança dos Orixás

Traditional folkloric dance of deities from a syncretic religion – candomble, originated among enslaved Africans in Brazil. Orixas are synthesized with catholic saints, but also believed to be patrons of different forces of nature and have their own characteristics as well as dance and music styles. Axe Chicago’s Danca dos Orixas features two most expressive dances of Oxum and Iansã as a tribute to the folkloric roots of Afro-Brazilian culture.

Coco De Roda

Coco De Roda (Cocoo-dee-hoda) is a typical dance from the coastal regions of northeastern Brazil. Coco music has a strong African and Native Brazilian Indian influence and is performed with a series of percussion instruments. Coco rhythm is based on the sounds of breaking coconuts, and later evolved as it’s own music style. The choreography of the dance is based on joyous stomping and spins. The performers wear colorful skirts and beach hats.

Maculelê

Maculelê (mah-coo-leh-leh) is an Afro-Brazilian dance created as a game by African slaves on the sugarcane plantations in northeastern Brazil. The slaves would play maculelê with the machetes used to cut sugarcane to vent their anger and frustration. Later, it evolved to a form of expressive dance with athletic moves, where performers strike wooden sticks and/or machetes to the drumbeat.