From kicks and jabs to circular, fluid motions, it’s hard to tell whether capoeira is a dance or a fight.  To Brett Brolliar of Reno Tahoe Capoeira, it’s a game.

“It’s kind of a ghetto art,” said Brolliar during a presentation of the Brazilian art form in Wingfield Park last Thursday as part of Black Rock Dance Company’s show, “Life, Love, Dance.”  

Brolliar brought capoeira to Reno when he founded Reno Tahoe Capoeira four years ago. Brolliar, a Reno area native, first discovered capoeira nine years ago while attending the University of California at Berkeley. 

“The first time I saw it, I knew I was in love with it and wanted to do it forever,” Brolliar said.

The game, created by slaves, originated in Brazil. Because slaveholders purposely separated tribes to prevent riots, slaves used the music and dance of capoeira to communicate.

“They preserved their culture to some extent under oppression,” said Brolliar, adding that capoeira is “a slave language” made up of Portuguese and slang.

“It’s new to the world and still has that authentic quality,” Brolliar said. He believes capoeira will have an exciting future and songs will eventually be written in English and other languages.

When participants aren’t dancing, they are singing and playing instruments. Capoeira is performed to the music of an instrument called a berimbau, originally made from a gourd, Brazilian wood and zebra intestines, which were later replaced by tire wire.

Encouraging audience participation, Brolliar and company taught the audience the words to a song.  The lyrics roughly translated to “The banana tree fell.”

“Everyone falls down,” said Brolliar, explaining the life lesson behind both the song and his own experience with capoeira.

During Thursday’s demonstration, only the occasional misstep hinted that capoeira, unlike other forms of dance, is not choreographed. The players cartwheeled and ducked to avoid their opponents’ roundhouse kicks as they circled each other using capoeira’s signature step, the ginga.

“If you kick someone, it’s your fault.  If you get kicked, it’s your fault,” said Brolliar, quoting his teacher.

The goal is not to make contact; it’s more about control and awareness of one’s capoeira partner.

“Don’t stop moving and just be on your hands, feet and head,” Brolliar said.

Brolliar’s enthusiasm for capoeira was palpable as he described its history. The game was illegal in Brazil from 1888, when slavery was abolished, until 1931. During that time, the penalty for playing was six months in jail.

Since capoeira was legalized, many have sought to label it as a particular type of fighting or dancing.

“There are various interpretations of the art,” Brolliar said. “It’s important to explore it before trying to propagate it.”

Brolliar plays different forms of capoeira, from slow, strategic Angola to the more contemporary Regional. He also traveled throughout Brazil learning about the culture of capoeira.

“It’s an amazingly warm community,” Brolliar said of the capoeira players he met in Brazil, where he was offered meals and places to stay. The game itself is welcoming, he added, often ending in a hug.

“It’s incredible to have that intensity,” Brolliar said, “and still that camaraderie.”