2007 Wrap-Up

2007 Wrap-up

Wow! What a year!

2007 was our biggest year yet! With the help of the GBCJ committee, GBCJ Action Teams, volunteers, and friends, Grupo Bantus Capoeira Japan was able to host and take part in some huge events and some awesome projects!

Design Festa

2007 saw GBCJ perform live to a huge and highly receptive audience in Tokyo Big Sight at Design Festa vol. 25. It was also our first time to perform maculelê live.

Links 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Professor Gringo in Tokyo

2007 also saw our very first guest Bantus instructor Professor Gringo arrive in Tokyo. He brought with him fellow Bantulinos Shireen and Chacal for one week of fantastic workshops, street rodas in Kichijoji, an Open Roda, and Festa Junina.

Our first Batizado!

And without a doubt the highlight for GBCJ in 2007 was our very first capoeira festival and batizado with not one, not two, but three invited guest Bantus instructors Zoi, Claudinho, and Rafael and a bunch of guests from around Tokyo, and as far as Ibaraki, Gunma, Shizuoka, and Sapporo!

Trip Down Under

With the axé still high from our batizado, 10 GBCJ members hopped onto a plane and flew south to Perth, Australia for the huge event that was the 1st World Capoeira Meeting and Decade of Bantus Capoeira Australia. We took part in workshops of capoeira, samba, instrument making, and even Aboriginal dance. We met hundreds of other Bantulinos from Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Germany, Holland and Brazil. We also met up with Mestre Pintor (GBC Brazil), Mestre Escamoso (GBC Brazil), Graduado Zoi (GBC Holland), Graduado Claudinho (GBC Singapore), Instrutor Rafael (GBC Malaysia), Instrutor Grão (GBC Brazil), and Instrutor Geléia (GBC Germany). We also met Contra-Mestre Borracha (Capoeiracre – Sydney), and Professor Vira Lata (Ginga Mundo – Melbourne).

Check out the list of highlights from 2007, read more and leave comments below.

New Bantus Online Store: January 3rd
2007 classes commence: January 13th
The first Bring-A-Friend-Day: January 13th and 14th
3 week Kids Capoeira Workshop, Mitaka: January 27th – February 10th
Shinnenkai, Nijyu Maru, Kichijoji: February 11th
Nudist Beach, Club Core, Roppongi: February 17th
Namakemono Mail introduced: February 25th
March in March (National Union of General Workers Tokyo Nambu), Shibuya: March 11th
Annual General Meeting, 2007: March 11th
Capoeira Camp, Yamanashi: March 24th & 25th
Hanami and Park Roda, Showa Kinen Koen, Tachikawa: April 1st
New Tuesday classes at Event Hall Musashino, Kichijoji: April 3rd
Nudist Beach, Club Core, Roppongi: April 21st
Regional Japão Open Roda, Kichijoji: April 22nd
Marana Open Roda, Ibaraki: April 29th
Farewell Party for Sorvete and Street Roda, Kichijoji: May 6th
Design Festa, Tokyo Big Sight: May 26th & 27th
World No Tobacco Day (Information booklets): May 31st
Ache Brasil Batizado, Osaka: June 17th
BumB presentation, Tokyo: June 30th
Metropolis Podcast Episode 693 part 1, 12min20sec, July 5th
Workshops and Street Rodas with Professor Gringo, Kichijoji: July 3rd to 8th
Open Roda with Gringo, Go Sho: July 7th
Festa Junina, Noodle chafe&bar, Kichijoji: July 8th
Grupo Tempo Batizado, Takadanobaba: July 15th
Nação Capoeira Batizado, Go Sho, Inokashira: July 22nd
Park Roda, Showa Kinen Koen, Tachikawa: July 29th
GBCJ Meeting, Kichijoji: August 5th
Marana Batizado, Ibaraki: August 19th
Asakusa Samba Carnival, Asakusa: August 25th
Metropolis Podcast Episode 702 part 1, 13min00sec, September 7th
Workshops with Graduado Zoi: September 3rd – 6th
Workshop with Instrutor Rafael: September 7th
Street Roda with Graduado Zoi, Graduado Claudinho, and Instrutor Rafael, Kichijoji: September 7th
Workshops with Graduado Zoi, Graduado Claudinho, and Instrutor Rafael, Shinjukumura LIVE: September 8th
bantus festa LIVE, Shinjukumura LIVE: September 8th
1º Batizado de Grupo Bantus Capoeira Japão, Showa Kinen Koen, Tachikawa: September 9th
Batizado After Party and Street Roda, Kichijoji: September 9th
1st World Capoeira Meeting and Decade of Bantus Capoeira Australia, Perth, Australia: September 17th – 30th
Caçapa and Cafune’s AQWA Wedding, Perth: September 28th
Caçapa and Cafune’s Happoen Wedding, Tokyo: October 5th
Mitaka Sports Festival, Mitaka: October 8th
Nudist Beach, Club Asia, Shibuya: October 12th
Antaru Festival and Park Roda, Yoyogi Park: November 11th
New Google Map and directions launched: November 15th
GBCJ Podcast introduced: November 27th
GBCJ EGM, Inokashira: December 2nd
Namakemono Blog introduced: December 5th
troca de fundamentals de capoeira, Ikebukuro: December 16th
Open Roda and 3rd Bonenkai, Kichijoji: Decmeber 22nd
Caçapa and Cafune’s Wedding on Global Citizens: December 30th

Of course all of the above would not have been possible without some serious blood, sweat, and tears! 2007 was an exhausting year where sleep and rest took a back-seat to focus, concentration, and hard work. Making posters, flyers, promo-videos, t-shirts, application forms, proposals, and updating the blog. Long distance phones calls to Brazil, emails around the world, sending invitations, committee meetings, sponsorship meetings, searching for venues, making applications for visas, finding apartments for our guests, distributing flyers, advertising in the media. And let’s not forget teaching eight lessons per week!

Photos

Videos

Podcast

GBCJ Committee 2007
GBC Japão 委員会 2007

Chairperson責任者: Caçapa (Marcello Pietrantonio)

Vice- Chairperson副責任者: Cafune (Kinuko Pietrantonio)

Secretary秘書・書記: Lanterna (Yoshiko Makita)

Treasurer会計: Guarana (Yuki Goto)

Events Coordinator行事・イベントコーディネーター: Coruja (Noriko Tsukada)

Promotions Officer宣伝係: Cotonete (Hiroshi Tsumura)

Translation Team

Lanterna, Miniatura, Chaveirinho, Sorriso, Bambu, Peta, Risadinha, Girrasol, Cafune

Festival Team

Cafune, Lanterna, Guarana, Cotonete, Espantalho, Barril, Pikachu, Formiga, Tatu, Máskara, Sorriso and Frank (thanks brother!)

Multimedia Team

Cotonete, Pikachu, Mico, Barril, Espantalho

Special Help

Sorvete (& Gorilla Bantus)

GBCJ Class of 2007

Caçapa, Cafune, Mico, Lanterna, Peta, Requeijão, Miniatura, Largatixa, Risadinha, Cotonete, Guarana, Bambu, Topeira, Tatu, Barril, Chaveirinho, Girrasol, Formiga, Pinóquio, Pikachu, Sorriso, Máskara, Jesse, Sakuraba, Palito, Beija Flor, Machado, Espantalho, E.T, Joaninha, Takehiro Sasaki, Toshihiro Kataoka, Yukari Hirabayashi

ありがとうございました