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About Mestre No & Contra Mestre Perere



Norival Moreira de Oliveira was born in the village of Coroa, Itaparica island - just off the coast of the city of Salvador da Bahia, Brazil on June 22, 1945. His grandfather gave him his first capoeira lessons when he was 4 years old. At 7, Norival and his family moved to Massaranduba, a poor neighborhood near the church of Bom Fim. Mestre Nilton and Mestre Cutica, brothers and highly respected capoeiristas who lived down the block, took young Norival to meet the elder Masters Pirro and Zeca.

Pirro, Zeca and Nilton organized and commanded many capoeira rodas in the streets. On special occasions, Mestre Traira, Mestre Waldemar and other Mestres from Liberdade, another poor neighborhood known for it's large population of African descendants, got together and organized incredible rodas; 20 masters would show up to sing quadras,corridos, ladainhas, play berimbau, pandeiro and jogar or play capoeira. Norival was always present at these capoeira rodas, but he did not yet enter the circle. These rodas were reserved only for mestres.

During an intense Capoeira roda,in front of a church one Sunday afternoon, mestre Nilton told Norival to "buy the game". Norival began playing in the Mestre's rodas and in 1965 he started teaching in his own academy of capoeira angola.

Mestre No has been teaching capoeira for over thirty years. He founded Capoeira Angola Academies Retinos, Orixas Da Bahia and Capoeira Palmares. He has taught thousands of capoeristas and is called the "mestre dos mestres" or master of masters for having graduated an exceptionally large number of masters. He is founder, president, and grand master of Associacao Brasileira Cultural De Capoeira Palmares(ABCCP) an organization dedicated to teaching, promoting and maintaining the traditions of Capoeira Angola.

Today, Mestre No lives with his children and grand children in Boca Do Rio, Salvador. He teaches capoeira in Pituba and travels throughout Brazil helping and guiding the many academies of ABCCP.

Contra Mestre Pererê has been a dedicated student of mestre No since 1998. He began learning capoeira in the city of Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. in 1989 with his first mestre: Elisio Pitta - graduating officially to the level of Instructor in 1995 after teaching classes with the Aluja Capoeira Angola Group for several years and performing with the Aluja Dance Company.

Pererê has practiced martial and acrobatic arts for over 20 years with a backround in kickboxing, karate, kungfu, gymnastics, street tumbling - and in what nowadays is popularly refered to as 'Parkour' - or freestyle roof-running. He is a Okuden level practitioner of Toda-ha Buko-ryu (classical Japanese combative arts). He was a stunt performance instructor for the United Stuntmen's Association's 'International Stunt School for 9 years teaching highfalls, stunt tumbling, martial arts for camera, fire stunts, and related stunt-safety and team-building skills and is an indie stuntman and stunt coordinator who continues to work on a wide variety of films and media projects. He has taught workshops & seminars in capoeira, martial arts, and stunt performance across North America for over ten years.

As a guide Contramestre Pererê's teachings in capoeira angola are firmly rooted in mestre No's tradition and approach and is intended to be engaging, informative - and ultimately transformative - for the student engaging the capoeira path. He has extensive and comprehensive knowledge of the arts he practices - from basic movements to falling & recovery skills, safety awareness skills to acrobatic tumbling, from partnered/group communication skills to translating advanced capoeira angola game-skills and philosophy into fulfilling and practical life-skills, or potent self-defense tactics incorporating empty hands, sticks, knives or straight razors. With an eye on safety and personalized individual development he breaks-down fundamental concepts of movement, music, and capoeira ritual for better understanding while offering a clear and approachable model to learning and personal growth in capoeira for players of all levels.

As a primary aim to continuing his own capoeira education Contramestre Pererê has continued to visit Bahia, Brazil as often as possible over the past 15 years in order to continue exploring Afro-Brazilian cultural arts, and to continue to hone his capoeira skills by playing (and learning from) capoeira masters, adepts, and students of all levels and abilities.

Pererê is an adept at berimbau crafting and also offers workshops and seminars on berimbau making and capoeira to interested groups around the world. email info@palmaresnw for more info