LONG BEACH YMCA YOUTH INSTITUTE

Early December, a few alumni students of the YMCA Youth Institute took a Saturday trip to the Long Beach Dance Center in Belmont Shore. The five alumni and staff member attended the 2nd Annual Batizado—a weekend long event consisting of capoeira, dance, music and a ton of energy! BodySport Capoeira, a capoeira academy from Long Beach, coordinated the event. BodySport Capoeira provides a Brazilian cultural experience to our city through classes, workshops and events such as Batizado.

The YI alumni students participated in the Saturday event in which they attended a beginner’s class in capoeira. Our alumni were taught by Professor Macarrao, from Oakland, CA. YI alumni students seemed to fit right in with the other participants—luckily our alumni got a private lesson on the beach with Sabrina Hayat from SALVE, a capoeira program for at-risk youth in Long Beach, CA. All in all the Youth Institute alumni who participated enjoyed the event and were happy to take home some new knowledge of capoeira. Chandani, Youth Institute graduate in 2008, shared with the group, “It’s very cool to discover this capoeira community and hear how different capoeira academies interact and bond with each other all over the world!