Mestre Jelon Vieira
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Jelon Vieira is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Capoeira Foundation and DanceBrazil. He and the late Loremil Machado were the first artists to bring traditional Afro-Brazilian dance and Capoeira to the United States, in 1975. For over twenty-five years Vieira has guided DanceBrazil through breathtaking performances throughout the United States, including performances at Spoleto USA, the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center. The company has also toured in Europe, Asia and Brazil. It has been featured on the PBS programs Alive from Off Center and the PBS documentary series, Egg: The Arts Show.
Vieira has worked with numerous major cultural institutions, including the Caribbean Cultural Center in New York and the Carver Community Cultural Center in San Antonio. CityLore, a New York City community organization, inducted him into its Hall of Fame for lifetime contribution in 1999.
In 2000, Vieira was recognized by the Brazilian Cultural Center in New York City as the Pioneer of Capoeira in the United States. In addition to his solo performances and works for DanceBrazil, his choreographic credits include the films Brenda Starr, Rooftops, and Boomerang.
For Times Square 2000, the globally televised, multinational 24-hour dance marathon in New York City, Vieira was chosen to create the only Brazilian performance. He has been a guest master teacher at Yale University, Oberlin College, Columbia University, Princeton University, Stanford University, among others.
In 2000, he was the Bacardi Distinguished Visiting Eminent Scholar at the University of Florida at Gainesville. He has taught Capoeira to the soccer great Pele and American movie stars Wesley Snipes and Eddie Murphy. Snipes, a martial arts expert, recognized Vieira as one of "The Masters of the Martial Arts of the 20th Century".
When at home in Brazil, Vieira teaches children and young adults in his home community of Boca do Rio, using Capoeira to build self-esteem, to instill self-discipline, and to raise social consciousness while helping his students become a vital part of their own community.
