Series: Frames of Reference
Program: Capoeira of Brazil
Episode: 1017
Date: 1980-01-01
Subject: Carnival - St. Croix; St. Croix; Capoeira (Dance)
Copyright Holder: Warrington Hudlin

Clip Description
This episode of "Frames of Reference" features the work "Capoeira of Brazil" by Warrington Hudlin.

Capoeiras of Bahia Dance Company performs capoeira The Capoeiras of Bahia Dance Company performs capoeira, a Brazilian dance comprised of the motions of a martial art form, to the accompaniment of traditional song and instrumentation. The narrator describes the aesthetics of capoeira and its social history among the African slaves and Portuguese in Brazil.

Capoeira song and music is performed by members of The Capoeiras of Bahia Dance Company. The syncopated, up-tempo music of capoeira is played on several percussion instruments and a traditional stringed instrument called a gaff. Capoeira song is led by the gaffer who is joined in chorus by the dancers.

"Frames of Reference" was a series that began circa 1978. Half-hour shows were produced to showcase commissioned and already created works. It was around this time that the focus of the Workshop shifted, to concentrate more heavily on creating works for broadcast. During its time, "Frames of Reference" was the focus of the Workshop's national arts programming effort. The series ended circa 1983.

Program Description
This episode of "Frames of Reference" features the work "Capoeira of Brazil" by Warrington Hudlin.

Capoeiras of Bahia Dance Company performs capoeira The Capoeiras of Bahia Dance Company performs capoeira, a Brazilian dance comprised of the motions of a martial art form, to the accompaniment of traditional song and instrumentation. The narrator describes the aesthetics of capoeira and its social history among the African slaves and Portuguese in Brazil.

Capoeira song and music is performed by members of The Capoeiras of Bahia Dance Company. The syncopated, up-tempo music of capoeira is played on several percussion instruments and a traditional stringed instrument called a gaff. Capoeira song is led by the gaffer who is joined in chorus by the dancers.

"Frames of Reference" was a series that began circa 1978. Half-hour shows were produced to showcase commissioned and already created works. It was around this time that the focus of the Workshop shifted, to concentrate more heavily on creating works for broadcast. During its time, "Frames of Reference" was the focus of the Workshop's national arts programming effort. The series ended circa 1983.

Series Description
The New Television Workshop originated at WGBH, a public broadcasting station in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1974 to support the creation and development of experimental video art. This experimental programming included dance, drama, music, performance and visual arts on video and film. As early as 1968, WGBH was committed to the development of video art through residency programs, with artists such as Nam June Paik, and the "Rockefeller Artists-in-Television" project. Many of these early works (pre-1974) were broadcast both locally and nationally.

As an umbrella for arts related programming, the Workshop included "Artist's Showcase, " "Frames of Reference, " "Dance for Camera, " "Poetry Breaks," and "New Television," as well as acquired arts programming. Individual works were created for "Visions," a series produced by WNET (New York), and "Alive From Off Center," a series produced by KTCA (St. Paul - Minneapolis). The Contemporary Art Television (CAT) Fund was co-founded by the Workshop and Boston's Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) in the 1980's, to commission works by video artists. In 1993 the Workshop ceased production at WGBH.

See also: http://main.wgbh.org/saybrother/programs/sb_1017