Fight-dance group with unpronounceable name dazzles

If like me you never have heard of Abadá-Capoeira, which is Brazilian martial arts, you are missing something special.  On a whim, I was lucky enough to catch a free performance featuring half a dozen of its athletes at the French Institute last weekend, and the event was enthralling.

While the activity clearly is a sport, it is one more like a performance absent any contact, except by mistake.  Abadá-Capoeira manages to combine the thrusts that remind me of jiu jitsu with the grace of dance.

With a name that I have no clue how to pronounce, the activity has its origins in

Emmanuele Phuon is on her way to doing it once more

My little camera doesn’t have a very fast shutter, so apologies for the blurry images in this post.

A comprehensive story in the Phnom Penh Post last week referred to an open rehearsal of a new dance, but it coyly mentioned only a time and no place.  Of course, I had to go, and I have to say that the work is transformative.

Tracking down the location wasn’t all the hard: I simply e-mailed the reporter and got this speedy reply: