Last night, I participated in a special performance during International Night here at USG. Hosted by the Center for Student Engagement, the event brought out a diverse representation of our student body. The Universities at Shady Grove is the home to nine different higher education programs, and students with backgrounds from all across the world came together to participate.

Last semester, I wrote a detailed post explaining my background with training capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art including elements of dance, acrobatics and music. I have been an active member of Abada Capoeira DC for nearly four years now, and it was so exciting to share the stage with my teacher and friends. Our group has weekly classes in Rockville, Germantown, and Fairfax, and anyone is welcome to come and join us sometime!

I feel so grateful for the opportunity to share my love for capoeira with the community here at The Universities at Shady Grove. For the last part of my Exercise Science program through Salisbury University, I have been completing a physical therapy internship. It was nice to reconnect with some of my classmates in my program, and I was even able to recruit one of my friends into joining us on stage at the end of our performance!

Next up, our capoeira group has many exciting events on the horizon. Tomorrow, many members of our group will be meeting at the American Red Cross to donate blood. In March, Professora Yara and some of my fellow classmates in Abada Capoeira DC will travel to Mexico for the North American games, and we will also visit New York to support our the Batizado event for the Abada Capoeira Brooklyn group. For months now, many members of our group have been training hard to prepare for our own Batizado event, which will be held from May 2 – 5th, 2019. Finally, in August, our group is planning to travel together to Brazil for the Jogos Mundiais or Abada Capoeira World Games. Please visit our website at http://www.abadadc.org for more information about our mission, class schedule, and more.