José Elias Da Silva, Mestre Elias, born in Recife (PE) in 1951. Until 1967, he practiced "Pernadas", that is to say movements that were not yet called "Capoeira" at that time. He moved to the city of Teresopolis in 1967, in the state of Rio de Janeiro where he began to practice capoeira, inside an academy, in 1968 with Professor Carlinhos de Recife. In 1972, Elias had his first Capoeira Mestre, Mestre Geraldão, at the time a medical student. In 1975, Mestre Geraldão once graduated, decided to leave the city. He leaves in place the Mestre, Girardan, who according to him, obtained his diploma by Mestre Tabosa, in Brasilia. In 1976, Mestre Elias moved to Rio de Janeiro to work and study. In this period he was known in the Travessa Angrense (a place where many "bambas" played and graduated), in Copacabana, the Grupo Senzala de Capoeira, which immediately began training under the command of the Masters Peixinho and Itamar. Elias became fascinated by the work of Grupo Senzala, and familiarized himself with the fundamentals, technique and teaching developed.
Aiming to improve their knowledge and meet the needs of their students, Elias graduated in Physical Education from the Universidade Salgado de Oliveira (universe). In 1990, Elias was formed by Mestre Itamar (one of the founders of Grupo Senzala) corda vermelha, the maximum degree of the group. In 1982, Elias developed the Grupo Senzala in Teresopolis, under the responsibility of Mestre Itamar. In 1995, following his excellent work, he received his first invitation, from Mestre Peixinho, to develop a project outside Brazil. Mestre Elias sends his son Michel York to London (England) to launch their projects in the old continent. The Escola de Capoeira Grupo Senzala – Mestre Elias, becomes an important participation in the initial explosion of Capoeira in Europe.
From this moment, the Escola is reinforced abroad, Mestre Elias being the main responsible for the evolution of Capoeira in Europe, mainly in France. In 1996, Elias founded the Associação Grupo Senzala de Capoeira de Teresópolis, using the name “Escola de Capoeira Grupo Senzala de Teresópolis”. In 1998, he was invited by a French company to produce Capoeira videos, entitled “100% Spectacular Capoeira”, “100% Regional Capoeira” and “100% Capoeira Angola”. During this period he also produced a book with the title “The Essentials of Capoeira” by Chiron publisher. The videos and the book conquered the world and became one of the reference documents for capoeiristas. Mestre Elias has visited Brazil and abroad, participated in meetings, conferences, colloquia, teaching courses and conduct events in several countries in Europe, Asia, United States and Latin America. For excellence, Mestre Elias has today one of the most admired works in the art of Capoeira, being recognized in the universe of the great masters.
From 1988 to 2013 Mestre Elias ventured into social projects, keeping children and young people off the streets and directing them towards social and professional life. Some of these young people are today, students of the Escola de Capoeira, developing their own projects in Brazil and abroad. In 2009 Our team received a grant from a French association, promoting their projects during this period. Currently, 90% of projects are broken due to lack of resources and encouragement from government and company.
