Instructor Falcão

Born to Jamaican immigrant parents, Instructor Falcão grew up in Scarborough’s east-end and one of the city’s roughest neighbourhoods- Malvern. Having witnessed many friends and acquaintances killed on the streets and even more move in and out of the prison system, learning to be tough came with the territory.

Instead of going the way of his peers, Falcão decided to focus his attention elsewhere, both physically and spiritually. His introduction to martial arts was Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do, where his instructor taught him much about the ‘real world”. It was his Jeet Kune Do instructor who introduced him to capoeira, and from that point on he was hooked. Falcão has been training capoeira for 14 years, since capoeira first was introduced in Toronto. He is one of Toronto’s few early students still training today, and he continues to work towards the growth of capoeira in Toronto.

Instructor Falcão has been training under C.M. Lua Branca since 2003, and became the first Instructor to be graduated under Contra Mestre Lua for Capoeira Malês. He has been teaching capoeira classes throughout the GTA for 7 years.

Instructora Pantera

Born in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, Instructora Pantera started studying dance at the age of 5, signalling the start of a lifelong love of dance and expressive movement. She went on to receive a Bachelor’s degree in Dance from the Federal University of Bahia in 2001, and shortly thereafter began touring with several dance companies throughout Brazil, the U.S., Asia and Canada.

Pantera has received dance training in classical ballet, contact improvisation, modern and Afro-Brazilian dance. She has been training capoeira with Contra Mestre Lua Branca for 10 years and received her Instructor’s cord in 2009. Together they have a 3-year old daughter, Camila, already following in her parents’ footsteps.

Contra-Mestre Lua Branca

Born and raised in the town of Ipatinga in south-eastern Brazil, Lua developed an interest in capoeira at the age of six and studied for many years in his hometown. In 1994, he moved to Vitoria, Espirito Santo to train and improve his technique and understanding of this unique Afro-Brazilian martial art. Beyond his training duties, he participated in various capoeira rodas and batizados throughout Brazil.

In 1995, he obtained his Professor cord and began teaching. In 1997, he was invited to participate in an international capoeira encounter in Vancouver, B.C. which led to his decision to emigrate to Canada. Over the next few years, in addition to teaching capoeira in Vancouver, he travelled and performed throughout the U.S.A., Canada, Asia and Mexico with several Afro-Brazilian dance companies.

In August of 2000, in honour of his expertise and leadership he was awarded his Contra Mestre’s cord, and a few years later Lua moved from Vancouver to Toronto to continue his work there. In December 2004, Contra Mestre Lua and Mestre Curisco decided to establish their own group – Grupo Capoeira Malês. Today they have students teaching in Brazil, the U.S., Mexico and Canada.