Professor Borracha (Bohasha)

Borracha (Wellington Porto) was born in Bahia, Brazil. He began his Capoeira training at the age of thirteen with Mestre Jelon Vieira, renowned Capoeira master and choreographer.

Borracha started his performance career with The Capoeiras of Bahia, a dance company for teenagers, directed by Jelon Vieira. With The Capoeiras of Bahia he performed in Brazil and participated in several exchange programs with the Capoeira Foundation Inc. in the United States. While in the US, he performed and participated in several demonstrations at Universities, Colleges and K-12 schools.  In 1997 Borracha joined DanceBrazil and toured with the company all over the world as a principal performer until 2002 when he was hired by Capoeira St. Louis as their head instructor.

Borracha made a special appearance at the Camai Arts Festival in Bethel, Alaska and was featured in The Egg, a program produced and aired by PBS. He also participated in the New Millennium Celebration in Times Square on December 31, 1999, with DanceBrazil.  He has also performed for Nike, the Hippodrome State Theatre and at many other festivals and performances across the country.

Borracha currently lives and teaches capoeira in Gainesville, FL.  He continues to travel throughout the United States and Canada giving workshops on the art of capoeira. He has lectured and taught capoeira at Occidental College, Webster University, Santa Fe College and the University of Florida.  He has also presented at several K-12 schools in Florida including DuPont Middle School, Lake Forest Elementary, Williams Elementary and Alachua Learning Center.

Monitora Delicada

Catherine Powers (Aka Delicada) was born in Seoul Korea and lived abroad for the first 6 years of her life.  Her diverse experiences growing up cultivated a life-long interest in traveling and learning about different cultures.   In 2006, While studying Economics at the University of Florida in Gainesville, she discovered the art of capoeira through a friend.  She was immediately drawn to the fusion within capoeira of music, dance and martial arts, three of her passions, and quickly became dedicated to the art.  After beginning capoeira, Delicada added Latin American Studies to her areas of study at university. While getting her degree, she gained experience with fitness education at Gainesville Health and Fitness Center working as a floor trainer.  She also worked for 3 years in the Kids Club there,  and developed a joy for working with children.

Delicada began assisting in the instruction of capoeira classes in 2009. Since then she has taught classes for the BCAE as well as Hoggetowne Middle School and the Hippodrome theater.  Also in 2009 she joined the Board of Directors for the Brazilian Arts Exchange, where she held the office of Secretary.  In 2011 she stepped down from the board in order to take over the position of Executive Director.