Z Space: CIGARRA & Guerreiras Nessa Arte

ABADÁ-Capoeira San Francisco Performance Company presents
CIGARRA & Guerreiras Nessa Arte

The legacy of an Afro-Brazilian female trailblazer

May 3 to 5, 2024
on Z Space’s Steindler Stage

Mestra Marcia “Cigarra” Treidler has been the singular role model for women practicing the Afro-Brazilian art of Capoeira. At age 25, she was the first woman practitioner to bring Capoeira to California, having started a school in San Francisco’s Mission District in 1996 that has become a cultural stronghold, sacred community space, and renowned global training center.

Witness the art’s spellbinding ritual unfold as Mestra Cigarra shares the story of her pathbreaking ascent through its male-dominated ranks, as well as the stories of those who’ve inherited her legacy, through dance, film, and martial arts. See guest artists from Brazil and the ABADÁ-Capoeira San Francisco Performance Company embody her lineage through Capoeira and the traditional music and dances of maculelê, jongo, and samba de roda.

Film and other archival media created and curated by local filmmaker Claudia Escobar will ground the performance, leading audiences through a multi-sensory journey.