Our Team

Tarek Alsaleh

Managing Director

LARANJA

Tarek Alsaleh has a history of innovation and is a true entrepreneur, running his own business from the age of 24 before moving completely into the field of social work. Tarek has a background in Sports Science and Organisation likes Mate, Pizza, Reggae, Capoeira and his cat Obama.

Tarek drives every one around him completely nuts on a daily basis to ensure that Capoeira reaches further than just our classes - in doing so he succeeding in bringing Capoeira to over 6000 children in Syria.

“My work with Capoeira has just begun. When I see all the kids and the refugees who are in need of some joy in their lives, it’s no longer a choice to help them; it’s an obligation”

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Ummul Choudhury

Director

SOHIZA

After taking a career break from her role as Programme Manager for The Economist in London, Ummul spent some time improving her Arabic in Syria; the trip proved fortuitous - it's where she stumbled across a fledgling capoeira organisation and where the seeds for Bidna Capoeira were sown. A seasoned wordsmith and strategist, she's masterminding Bidna Capoeira's business development, helping to secure international funding and build lasting relationships

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Dan Harrison

Communications

VAGABUNDO

Dan took a five month break from his cycle to Cape Town to help us found Bidna Capoeira. This is a stark contrast to his previous life working as a Communications Manager in London. Dan’s experience ranges from communications to knowledge management and design ...not to mention a fair bit of travelling.

Dan continues to help us on his adventure; including building this site while in Ethiopia. He is our 'Cycling Emissary', teaching capoeira to kids and making connections for us en route through Africa. Find out more on www.BetterLifeCycle.com.

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Isaac Heinrich

Programme Development

AFRICANO BRANCO

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Rob Sixsmith

PR & Media

Rob is certainly no capoeirista, in fact he tried once and fell over, lots. But as a communication consultant and general media type for a number of NGO organisations, such as UNICEF, he has seen many grassroots organisations at work.

Understanding that few have the capacity to enthuse and empower and entertain in the way that Bidna Capoeria does he decided to join the team to photograph, film, write and support Bidna as it grows.

His first book 'The Waiting Room', written alongside Czech journalist Tomas Halder, is a photojournalistic investigation of the Iraqi refugee situation - and it was Bidna Capoeira's impressive work with these same refugees that first attracted him to the charity.

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Roger Hearn

Director of UNWRA Syria

Roger is an Australian national, he assumed his duties as Director of UNRWA in Syria in 2009, rejoining after having served as Senior External Relation Officer in Gaza from 2002-2004.

He has also worked for CARE International where he was the Regional Director for the Middle East and Europe. He has also held senior position in a number of international organizations including the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor as Director for District Affairs, Oxfam Australia as Regional Manager for Africa, and with the World Health Organization as a Senior Consultant on health policy.

Roger holds a Bachelor Degree in Social Work, Post Graduate Diploma in Public Administration, and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Melbourne, Australia.

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Johanne Djurhuus

Educaction Officer with UNHCR

Johanne Djurhuus is working as Education Officer with UNHCR in Damascus.

She started my ‘career’ in Syria with UNRWA, where I ran into Capoera first time in my life. At least this is what I thought. When I this summer strongly encouraged my 26 years old son to try this amazing ‘dance’, he revealed that he already enrolled in Denmark several years ago, - and also told me happily about it. Sometimes mothers don’t pay enough attention to their children’s activities!

Capoeira is such a wonderful supplement to all the ‘heavy’ activities UN agencies offer vulnerable children and youth in Syria. Humanitarian Organizations tend to stuff children with books, nutrition and hygiene campaigns etc., and we don’t have enough offers for physical challenges without the traditional element of competition, like in football or other games.

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Patrizia Giffoni

Child Protection & Psychosocial Advisor

Patrizia is originally a psychologist and psychotherapist. She is working in the Middle East since 1998, being technically responsible for several emergency and development projects. Patrizia has been psychosocial consultant for Movimondo, Terre des Hommes, Save the Children, UNICEF, International Rescue Committee and CARE for programmes addressing children and women rights, GBV and psychosocial needs. "I strongly believe that human beings have vital resources even in the worst conditions: music, singing, playing, physical movement, theatre, and all forms of art are the means for bringing these resources back to light, for trusting oneself, the others and the future."

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Duncan Goldie-Scot

Director of Musoni BV Microfinance

Duncan Goldie-Scot is a Director of Musoni BV, a microfinance institution operating in Africa that has pioneered the use of mobile payments. Duncan trained as an economist, has previously run his own publishing business and has written several books, published by the Financial Times, on banking and finance in emerging markets.

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Jilberto de Souza Coelho

Contra-Mestre Bira

Jilbert Coelho de Souza, known as Contra-Mestre Bira, was born on the island of Marajo in the Brazilian Amazon in 1962. Playing capoeira since he was 15 and he has taught since 1995 by Grupo de Capoeira Angola I am Angoleiro founded by Master John Bosco di Belo Horizonte.

In the same year began a social work with children and teenagers using the Capoeira Angola as a way to rescue heritage and values of the communities involved and to preserve the traditional knowledge, respect for cultural traditions and the environment. Recently he founded along with his students Cutimboia Association.

"Capoeira Angola, a set of elements called the ginga, negativa, rabo-de-arraia, au, role are responsible for the transformation of the universe that abita the human body"

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Jon Martin Gulliksen

Performance Management Consultant

Jon is a freelance business consultant with years of experience in Business Intelligence and Performance Management. Living and working out of Oslo, Norway, he tries to escape the cold as often as possible to go to the Middle East and help out with Bidna Capoeira’s ongoing effort to improve the efficient use of funding and resources. While he doesn’t know a single capoeira move, he is high and low on trainings as he nurses his photography passion by capturing the kids having a great time.

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Eurico Vianna

Advisor & Ambassador

Contra-Mestre Eurico

Eurico Vianna is a Contra-Mestre with over 20 years of experience in Capoeira. Student of Mestre Suassuna, the co-founder of the Cordão de Ouro Group in 1968, Eurico is the founder of the “Volta Por Cima” (VPC) Association (2002), a not-for-profit institution dedicated to the study, research and practice of Capoeira as an instrument to education and social inclusion. Through the VPC Association, Eurico launched and coordinates projects dedicated to social inclusion and intercultural learning of marginalised social groups in Brazil and abroad. The success of these projects led to the implementation of schools in Sweden, Finland, New Zealand and Australia.

These experiences are shared in Eurico's Blog - 4CapoeiraThoughts.com - an initiative to foment online discussions of Capoeira as an educational and inclusive tool. For his works as Capoeira performer, event promoter, and developed projects, Eurico was awarded the Certificate of Cultural Agent of the Federal District (his state in Brazil).

In order to support his educative and inclusive approach of Capoeira, Eurico holds a bachelors degree in Physical Education, a Postgraduate Diploma in Social Science, and is currently undertaking a PhD in Sociology at Griffith University (Australia), with the thesis 'Capoeira and Social Inclusion in Cosmopolitan Centres'.

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Jan Hoehn

Evaluation Advisor

Jan is assisting Bidna Capoeira in the evaluation of our projects. He is an almost full time father and it consultant. His evaluation background goes back over 10 years, when he finished his master of psychology.

Right now he is working on an evaluation platform for projects evaluated by development aid volunteers - www.meinfreiwilligendienst.de

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Jens Juul Petersen

Ambassador & Development Advisor

Jens likes football. Jens likes the Middle East. Jens plays a lot of football. Jens watches even more football. Jens talks a lot about football - a bit too much according to Jens' girlfriend and to some some capoeiristas. Jens also works with football. Jens works with football in the Middle East. Jens is not very good at Capoeira. Jens' body is not very flexible and he has no rhythm in his body. But Jens likes Bidna Capoeira - and Jens has promised to help finding donors, give advice on sport & development and to spread the Capoeira message. One Jens will maybe even try playing Capoeira - maybe...

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Leila Nachawati Rego

Social Media Advisor

Leila has been working with social media and online communication in Spain for two years. She holds degrees in English and Arabic Studies and International Cooperation.

Leila has also worked in the area of education and development projects in different countries, like the United States and Morocco, and she's an active blogger and digital campaigner.

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Monica Aceti

Ambassador & Development Advisor

Monica is a PhD student in socio-anthropology as well as capoeira teacher in Fribourg, Switzerland. She is writing her thesis about the diffusion of Capoeira in the European space (including the Syrian field by CapoeirArab obviously!) and the intercultural conflicts and exchanges between capoeiristas: “The stakes of the worldwide circulation of capoeira: intercultural transmissions and trade realities of an immaterial cultural heritage of afro-Brazilian origin in the European space”

She has also worked 10 years as sport teacher in a school with children with physical and mental disadvantages.

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Ken McCallum

Web Development Guru

Ken is our Web Development Guru – he has been writing code, building applications and websites for over 10 years. He linked up with Bidna Capoeira through his long-time friend and former business partner Dan (our Communications Director). While Ken and Dan were cycling through Africa together, they teamed up to produce this website; not bad for working on a temperamental internet connection in Ethiopia - the result we think may be the best free website ever made!

Aside from making us extremely happy with our website, Kenny runs marathons, is currently in the middle of a cycle across Africa, and is possibly one of the nicest people on the planet. Read more about his travels and other ventures at www.KenMcCallum.co.uk or on Twitter @kenmccallum

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Asbjørn 'Toppa' Djurhuus

Accountant

Right now Asbjørn’s stationed in Kabul, Afghanistan doing finance. Normally he lives in Denmark and will go back in summer 2011 to start on his masters.

“My connection to Bidna is through Johanne Djurhuus how put me in contact with Tarek and it all really just went on from there. My field is accounting and budgeting. So if you have any question regarding this matter, please don’t hesitate to write me.”

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Jennifer New

Graphic Designer

By day, Jennifer produces publicity materials for Goldsmiths, University of London. She's using her expertise to help whip Bidna Capoeira's print materials into shape, lovingly casting her eyes over every full stop and semi colon - and playing around with designs to her hearts content.

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Kilbinder Dosanjh

Editor

Kil Dosanjh is an Economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit in London. He leads the company's analysis on a number of countries in Asia. He has previously worked in finance in Thailand. He helps us with editing and is always ready to lend a hand.

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Alexander Sehmer

Editor

Alex is as a freelance journalist and editor, working for most of his career in Asia and the Middle East. He is also a qualified youth and community worker, helping run a number of education projects for young people.

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Jenny Elliott

Treasurer

Jenny fell in love with the Middle East during a semester in Egypt in -2003 and since then has spent periods working or studying Arabic in Jordan, Palestine and is now based in Qatar. She recognised the importance of good financial management for NGOs, so trained as an ACA accountant in London with Gotham Erskine, one of the leading firms focused on charity accounting. She can't do much Capoeira yet herself, but is thrilled to see the difference it makes in kids lives, which more than makes up for long evenings at the computer working on financial systems to make sure that everything runs smoothly and transparently.

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Mestre Carlo Alexandre Teixeira da Silva

Advisor & Ambassador

From the projects working with children and youth in deprived areas (Favelas) like Morro dos Prazeres in Santa Teresa in Rio de Janeiro and "Projeto Todo Dia São Domingos" in Niterói to The Royal Shakespeare Company; to the inmates of Brixton (London Prison), Austin and Seattle (USA) Juvenile Detention. And to local business, school and communities centres … to The Arcola Theatre and South Bank Brazil Festival; to Rio Carnival with Bloco de Carnaval É do Pandeiro and Kabula Events, his workshops and performances are designed to inspire and motivate all.

Mestre Carlo Alexandre (M.S. Philosophy of Art) has being practicing Capoeira Angola since 1982 when he started with Mestres Marco Aurelio and Jose Carlos one of the few capoeiristas that Mestre Moraes titled in Rio de Janeiro – and Mestre Armando Teixeira.

And also he started to learn “Pandeiro Brasileiro” with Percussionist Master Pedro Lima. Since that time, he has travelled the world with Capoeira and Percussion (Brazilian Pandeiro), starting in Martinique with the Colloque des Sincretisme Religieux du Caribe, and then on to projects such as the 1998 World Cup in France, conferences, festivals and workshops all over.

During this time, he started to make more frequent visits to the UK and the United States to begin forming a cultural bridge to Brazil establishing his organization Kabula Arts – an Inter Cultural Exchange of Afro-Brazilian practices, and is now in the process of registering as a charity organization in the UK as well as Rio de Janeiro.

Developing a unique style of teaching using the movements, theatre, philosophy, and music of the Afro-Brazilian art-form Capoeira, his workshops and classes are designed to reconnect and refine the creative and intuitive dimensions of our minds and bodies.

In addition, he has enabled members from Kabula to journey to Brazil and live amongst the Cariocas, where they have been introduced to other Mestres and specialists, and were invited to experience the real spirit of the Rio De Janeiro Carnival that takes place once a year in February/March.

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Mestre Poncianinho

Advisor & Ambassador

My name is Ponciano Almeida known in the capoeira community as Mestre Poncianinho. I was born and raised in Guaratingueta, Sao Paulo, Brasil. I was lucky to be born in a family of capoeiristas. I started capoeira at the tender age of 4 with my uncle, Mestre Ponciano, and Mestre Jose Antonio, my father.

At the age of 18 I went to work on a cruise ship performing capoeira in a Brasilian cabaret show. Which is where I met my wife, Louise Almeida. In 2000 we both moved to England as she is British and started Cordão de Ouro London. The group and my career have flourished. As a teacher I was able to increase the awareness of capoeira in the UK after having the good fortune to be chosen for the BBC 1 capoeira ident (advert). Now after 10 years of teaching and performing, group Cordão de Ouro London has established a solid foundation in the UK. I had the honour to be graded as a capoeira Mestre under the authorisation of Mestre Suassuna and of course my own teachers in 2006. Now as a Mestre, I feel a duty to expand capoeira in areas of social difficulties as well as my own school. This is why I am writing to congratulate the work that has, and is being carried out, by Bidna. I, have many friends who started capoeira in deprived areas of Brasil and now have constructed a new and better life

I feel that Bidna’s work is of great value as it not only educates and teaches a new culture to others but also brings together kids from different religious and cultural backgrounds; which is a very challenging thing to do.

Muito Obrigado

Mestre Poncianinho

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Goia Jorge

Capoeira Trainer and Monitoring & Evaluation Officer

I'm from São Paulo, Brazil, and have been living in London since 2004, teaching Capoeira in schools and youth projects. I have a PhD in Social Psychology, from the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ). My field research was about the body awareness and relational skills Capoeira can develop, and it took place at King's College London. I also work with 'Soma’, a Brazilian group process which uses drama exercises, dance, movement, games and Capoeira.

I came across Capoeira in the early 90's, while doing my Soma training with Roberto Freire, a pioneer in therapeutic approaches to Capoeira. This relationship has shaped my experience in the Capoeira world since then, while I've been training with different Mestres and teachers. For me, Capoeira is a body dialogue, an interaction calling people to move and express themselves. It creates a space in which people can change an established way of moving and meaning.

Photo credit: Vitoria Leila Aranha

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Renata Spinelly Martins

Capoeira Trainer

Renata is Brazilian, raised in England. Her talent for languages led her to study her BA in Spanish and Portuguese at Bristol University. During freshers week Renata joined the capoeira society, never imagining that it would become such an integral part of her life. Although Renata has worked in various areas of event management her talent and passions remain in capoeira and teaching. It was Bidna Capoeira’s short video that touched Renata profoundly, allowing her to see capoeira as an instrumental tool for change in much more significant settings. She feels privileged and extremely excited to be able to combine her skills and passion for a worthwhile cause to make life beautiful again in Palestine.

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Diyala Midhat

Psychosocial Consultant

Diyala Midhat, study at Birziet University psychology and education, high diploma in school counselling, and is in here last year in community psychology. She is married and mother of two children. She has an antipathy against smokers and disorganisation, love Palestine, travelling, nature, her family and her work as psycho social councillor. After already eight years of working experience she heard the first time about Bidna Capoeira. After the first time Capoeira live she was convinced about it’s enormous potential to make a strong positive difference in the lives of kids, if there are talented or disabled.

She is playing Capoeira now with her little kid’s Ziena (2.5years) and Qais 1 year.

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Joana Chamusca Chagas

Management Consultant

It was once in Damascus where Joana walked into a room to find Syrians moving bodies, playing music, and singing songs in ways very familiar to her. She had found not only capoeira, but also a group of young men and women using her history and culture to bring joy to children in refugee camps in the Middle East. The enthusiasm, commitment, and professionalism of the Bidna Capoeira gang, combined with the ginga and all-smiles faces of the kids captivated her. Since then Joana has helped with strategic planning, resources mobilization and donor relations, especially in Brazil.

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Melissa Manzo

Trustee

Melissa is a senior associate at the law firm Allen & Overy in London, specialising in restructuring. She also founded and coordinates the firm's microfinance and social investment group and has worked on a number of related pro bono matters. Although Melissa is not a capoeirista herself, she spent her childhood in Brazil and has happy memories of watching people play capoeira by the beach in Rio. She is excited to be a part of Bidna and to witness capoeira being put to good use to improve kids' lives around the world.

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Jill Manske

Social Media

After several years of planning and implementing leadership development programmes for teens and youth across the United States, Jill decided to take a few months to volunteer in the Middle East. Two years later, she's still there! In addition to being embraced by the people and culture, she's found herself deeply invested in Palestinian communities and places. Her experience in teaching community development and civic engagement has come to life in many new ways in this corner of the world. Likewise, she's excited about the ways in which her work with Bidna Capoeira will draw from her years of experience with social media, experiential education, mental health counseling, and even her time working with kids and recreation at Disney World.

Jill was first introduced to capoeira at drum circles in Montreal and Washington, DC, but didn't actually try playing it until Bidna Capoeira offered classes in her yoga studio in Ramallah. While yoga is her thing, she's intrigued enough by capoeira to try playing in the roda one of these days.

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