Auckland Capoeira Luanda
Auckland Capoeira Luanda is part of the global Capoeira Luanda community, founded in 2007 by Mestre Jelon Vieira. Our Auckland group, led by Graduada Bailarina under the direction of Mestre Esquilo Preto, was established in 2026.
Mestre Esquilo Preto
Mestre Esquilo developed an interest in Capoeira as a teenager when he began studying with Mestre Jelon Vieira in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. He has devoted his life to Capoeira, organizing events and teaching workshops from New York and Texas to Salvador, Brazil.
Graduada Bailarina
Graduada Bailarina discovered her love for Capoeira more than 20 years ago as a dancer in NYC. Since then, she’s studied under Mestre Jelon and Mestre Esquilo in cities across the US, and has taught Capoeira with the Capoeira Luanda ATX crew for the past 5+ years.
Our Mestre: Jelon Viera
Mestre Jelon Vieira, a 2008 National Heritage Fellowship recipient, has spent over forty years bringing Capoeira to the United States, teaching students of all ages and backgrounds from Pelé to Wesley Snipes and Eddie Murphy. He has led residencies and workshops at universities including Yale, Columbia, Stanford, and Duke.
Based in New York but spending months each year in Brazil, Vieira teaches Capoeira in his home community of Boca do Rio, using it to build self-esteem and discipline in children and young adults — part of his long-term goal of creating a center to help underprivileged kids move off the streets and into mainstream education.
He has also worked closely with cultural institutions such as the Caribbean Cultural Center in New York and the Carver Community Cultural Center in San Antonio, bringing Capoeira to new audiences and communities beyond the studio.