About Us

In 2006, Danilo Portugal, known as Professor Macarrão, moved to Oakland with his family, and brought Capoeira Luanda with him. In its short history the group has grown and evolved under the guidance and direction of one of the world's most respected and celebrated Capoeira masters- Mestre Jelon Vieira.

Professor Macarrão has trained the martial art of Capoeira for over 20 years, and trains under Mestre Jelon of the group Capoeira Luanda from Salvador Bahia, Brazil.  Professor Macarrão has taught Capoeira for over ten years, and is trained in contemporary, classical and traditional Brazilian dance techniques.

Danilo Portugal, known in the Capoeira community as Professor Macarrão, was born and raised in Salvador- Bahia, Brazil and has recently relocated to the Bay Area to share the gifts of Brazilian culture and dance. Before coming here, Professor Macarrão taught at the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre in New York City, traveled the world for 8 years with the performance company DanceBrazil, in which Mestre Jelon Vieira directs, and taught both youth and adults in various communities in the United States and abroad. 

He was the 2007 San Francisco King of Carnival. Since relocating to the Bay Area he has worked with various local artists including: Mestre Acordeon, Mestre Marcelo Caveirinha, Conçeicão Damaceno, Isaura Oliveira, and more. Danilo "Macarrão" provides a positive, cultural communal space where Capoeira, Brazilian dance, music and art inspire self-expression and creativity.

The sport of Capoeira embraces the concept of maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle. Capoeira helps establish active ways of life that result in mental alertness, improved self-esteem, improved quality of life and community development.  The uniqueness of Capoeira stems in large from its history of African, Native Brazilian and Portuguese cultural influences. Capoeira embodies music, song, dance, martial arts, acrobatics and community.

Mestre Jelon Vieira

Jelon Vieira is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Capoeira Foundation and DanceBrazil. He has earned much acclaim as a broadly talented choreographer, and a world renowned master and teacher of Capoeria. Born in Bahia, Brazil, Jelon Vieira studied Capoeira with the famous Mestre Bimba, Eziquiel, and Bobo.

Since his arrival in the US in 1975, Jelon Vieira has catalyzed the growing interest in and understanding of Brazilian culture while simultaneously developing his own choreographic style that blends traditional Afro-Brazilian dance and North American modern dance. In 1976 he formed the Capoeiras of Bahia with Loremil Machado. Then, in 1977, he founded DanceBrazil, and for the last 20 years has guided the company through breathtaking performances of Capoeira and Afro-Brazilian dance.

Mestre Jelon Vieira is a Brazilian 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 Afro-Brazilian art and dance form, Capoeira.

For over a quarter century, as the founder and artistic director of The Capoeira Foundation, Jelon 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.

Additionally, he has worked with numerous major cultural institutions, including New York City's Caribbean Cultural Center and San Antonio's Carver Community Cultural Center. In 1999, City Lore, a New York City community organizer, 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 his own Capoeira Grupo, Capoeira Luanda. Currently, Capoeira Luanda provides classes at our academies throughout the United States and abroad. Capoeira Luanda hosts festivals, workshops, international conventions, and performs throughout the United States.