Upcoming Events
About The Afro-Brazilian Percussion Workshop
We are so excited to continue Masacote’s Afro Oriented Workshop Series. We will host different workshops throughout the year where you will have the opportunity to do more than just learn salsa. You will explore the various forms of the Afro movements, dance and traditional music through different movements and sounds representing the Orishas (deities from the African traditions). Making this connection will allow you to embrace dance and the music through a cultural context in community with other salsa dancers.
Mestre Chuvisquinho is a capoeira master who not only has mastered the art of the Afro-Brazilian art, but mastered the drum, He grew up instilled with the sounds of a culture that emanates African ancestry, and with it it’s rituals, practices and sounds. He can create magic with the drums. We are fortunate to have Mestre Chuvisquinho to lead and teach us on learning how to engage with the drums. You’ll want to experience this for yourself.
When: Saturday, Feb, 25, 2023,
Time: 2:30pm – 4pm
Where: Cambridge Athletic Club, 215 First Street, Cambridge, MA. 02142
Pricing:
In-School Price: $25
Limit: 30 Students
The souls of the African ancestors live in the reverberations of the drum. It is one of the most sacred and oldest ritualistic instruments we have access to today. There are many types of drums and many ways of playing, whether with the hands or with handheld instruments. There exist even more rhythms so powerful they are said to activate a ritual and even call on ancestors.
Brief history:
Ogã (from Yoruba -ga: “superior person”, “chief”, “with influence”; from jeje ogã: “chief”, leader”) is the generic name for several male functions. In the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé it is the name of the priest chosen by the ancestral deity orixá, who remains lucid during all the works, not going into a trance, but still receiving spiritual intuition.
The percussive instruments atabaques, in Candomblé, can only be played by the musical ogãs Alabê (Queto nation), Cambondo (Angola and Congo nations) and Runtó (Jeje nation), which is responsible for Rum (larger atabaque that commands Rumpi and Lê ) and by the ogãs in the smaller atabaques under his command. It is Alabê that starts playing the Rum so that the orixá performs his choreography, of hunting, of war, always following the flourish of the instrument.
The atabaques are called Ilú in the Queto nation, and ingomba in the Angola nation, but all nations adopted the names: Rum, Rumpi, and Le. Despite being a Jeje denomination
COVID-19 Guidelines:
Per safety guidelines and approved by the City of Cambridge, face masks or coverings are no longer required to be worn inside gyms. However. we do encourage those who feel more comfortable wearing masks to continue to do so.
Additional Details
What to wear: Dress comfortably! Sweatpants, dress pants, leggings, leotards, skirts, wraps, and sarongs are all welcome. Dance shoes are not required.
Parking
There is plenty of on-street, metered parking during the evenings. Validated parking is available next door at the 50/60 Binney Street parking garage (entrance via Linskey Way) from 6pm-9pm on weekdays and 12pm-8 pm on Saturdays. Parking is free as long as you validate your ticket with the CAC staff or machine.
Studio Location
Masacote School; at Cambridge Athletic Club 215 First St; Cambridge (Upstairs Workout Room)
Enter through the First St. entrance by pressing the gray button for security to buzz you in.