Contramestre Ganso

A father, and an ecologist by profession, Ganso attended his first Capoeira class in February 1997 with Mestre Ulisses. Having had practised martial arts and other sports most of his life, he soon decided to dedicate himself to the study of Capoeira. While training regularly at the Sétima Posição dance space in Praça da Alegria in Lisbon, at the time within the Grupo União na Capoeira, he did trainings with several teachers, visited different trainings, and attended rodas, events and workshops. In September 1999 he went to study for a year in Aberdeen, Scotland, where he met an informal Capoeira group which took him on board as their trainer. As a result, during the following year he gave regular classes and workshops throughout Scotland, and hosted three events in the City Moves Dance Space in Aberdeen, inviting several guest Mestres and teachers. Back in Portugal, he decided to follow Mestre Ulisses’ teachings and in 2003, when the Mestre created Preservação da Mandinga, Ganso gave him all his support. By this time he regularly taught classes at the Sétima Posição dance space in Rua Sto. António da Glória in Lisbon, and gave occasional trainings and workshops elsewhere. Between 2003 and 2009, while further pursuing his studies, Ganso spent regular periods in Scotland and England where he took part in several Capoeira meetings, rodas and trainings and gave occasional classes as a guest teacher. In 2007 he moved to Berlin and in November that year he started giving regular trainings at the Heilehaus space in Waldemarstrasse. In January and February 2009 he travelled to Bahia where he deepened his research on Capoeira, met and attended trainings and rodas with some of the old Mestres and visited the reputed places celebrated in the traditional Capoeira songs. In July that year he was graduated as Professor at the group’s Batizado in Alcácer-do-Sal, and in September he hosted the first Malandragem da Capoeira, an annual meeting of Preservação da Mandinga in Berlin. In August 2016 he received the title of Contramestre in his mestre's hometown Sobradinho, Brazil.