Noa Belehssen: kicking it Capoeira style

Fighting the beat Combining her passion for acrobatics and music, freshman Noa Belehssen shares her journey pursuing capoeira

BY FERNANDO LARGAESPADA, STAFF WRITER

Fighting the Rhythm of the beat, freshman Noa Belehssen combines elements of dance, acrobatics and music through her passion for capoeira –– an Afro-Brazillian martial art created by slaves in the early 16th century.

At nine years old, Belehssen started capoeira at Miami Sol e Lua when her friend from elementary school suggested the sport. Having recently moved from Paris, Belehssen struggled to continue her passion for dance because of the financial expenses of the activity, so she pursued capoeira, a more affordable option.

Hoping to connect her French roots to the Afro-Brazilian sport, she was driven by her curiosity for the language involved in the activity. Although the songs she dances to are in Portuguese –– a language she is not fluent in –– she can still interpret the meaning of the song through the rhythm and beats.

“I got really attached to [capoeira] because I had never seen something like that and it is kind of my way to forget about everything else going on at the moment,” Belehssen said.

Starting every class with warmups such as straight splits, bridges and kicks, Belehssen quickly gets into her momentum and capoeira spirit. Her favorite move in capoeira is the “Vengativa” — a takedown — when two partners are standing side-byside, both facing the same direction and one person hooks their back leg with the other’s foot while hooking their elbow on the other person’s waist and then pushing their hips to the side while pulling in the other person’s foot.

It is full of culture and it is a way of expression; every moment is a way to express yourself and there is so much freedom in playing Capoeira, Belehssen said.

“First, the focus is not about taking down the other person or winning, you’re playing with your partner more than being against them,” Belehssen said. “It takes a lot of strength and flexibility and capoeira is really good at having a balance. [I] never stop learning because there are an infinite amount of moves.”

Belehssen’s biggest inspiration is her instructor Joseph “Tubarão.” When capoeiristas reach a high level, they receive animal names in Portguese Tubarão means shark. Belehssens has still not received her animal name in Portuguese, but would like to be called “Raposa” or fox.

Capoeira has taught Behelssen patience — both mentally and physically — above everything she experiences and has helped her become even stronger than when she was a dancer in France.

“You cannot do a move perfectly after just learning it, I would get mad but [capoeira] has taught me to be patient over time,” Belehssen said. In addition to movement, capoeira also involves musical instruments such as the pandero, a common Portuguese drum and the agogo, two coconut shells used to make a beat when hit against one another. However, Belehssen’s practice of capoeira is mainly focused on the physicality of the sport.

“It is full of culture and it is a way of expression; every moment is a way to express yourself and there is so much freedom in playing capoeira,” Belehssen said.

Courtesy of Not Belehssen