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to download and keep this clip for free. This video shows an art form today known as the Ladja or Danmye (previously entitled the Ag'Ya) of Martinique. Two combatants engage each other in a game of trickery, skill and acrobatic agility. At the head of the circle musicians control the tempo of the contest singing, playing drums and other instrument of African origin. Could this far-away Caribbean lookalike be a long-lost capoeira cousin? Does this offer us clues as to Capoeira's African origins? The similarity is nothing but striking! The video footage in this clip has been compiled from the Katherine Dunham Collection at the Library of Congress. Katherine Dunham, who passed away in May 2006, was a dancer, choreographer and researcher - a founding mother of African dance in American popular culture. She came across the Ag'Ya during a fieldwork expedition to the Caribbean and it inspired her to create an Ag'Ya dance performance back in the USA to popular acclaim. Click here
