Esther Viola Kurtz, an assistant professor of ethnomusicology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has published an article titled “Call, Response, and Compromisso: Ethical Practice in Capoeira of Backland Bahia, Brazil.”
Released online by Cambridge University Press, the piece argues that within the Afro-Brazilian musical/movement form capoeira, call-and-response structures do more than organize live performances. Rather, Kurtz argued, the music and movement summon participants to assume responsibilities within the group and their lives. These include showing up for training and performances, maintaining instruments, preparing for annual events, and teaching capoeira to younger generations in Bahia.
Kurtz’s research focuses on Afro-Brazilian music, sound, movement and dance practices. Her current book project, “A Beautiful Fight: The Racial Politics of Capoeira in Backland Bahia,” explores capoeira’s potential to motivate antiracist political action while also critically examining the implications of growing white participation in such a spiritual and political Afro-Brazilian practice. The book is in production with the University of Michigan Press on its Music and Social Justice Series.
