Bayside Restaurant hosted a lively evening of music and dance to close out the summer season when they welcomed Capoeira artists and Bossa Nova musicians for a free outdoor performance on September 11th. The evening was supported by a grant from the Helen E. Ellis Charitable Trust and the Westport Cultural Council.
Interview & Portraits by: Transcribed and Written by: Merri Cyr Paula Gauthier Live Photos and Video by: Mark Walker
Capoeira is a Brazilian art form dating back to the early 16th century that combines elements of martial arts, dance, acrobatics, and music. The event featured three premiere Capoeiro artists: Mestre Kinha, Mestre Deraldo Ferreira, and Professor Andre Lima.
Alicia Carroll was born and raised here in Westport MA. She and her sister Katherine Spivey run the Bayside Restaurant. It’s been a family restaurant for 48 years. She speaks with Westport Cultural Council Member Merri Cyr about her love of art, dance, and music, and growing up in Westport.
Merri Cyr: Have you always been involved in the business?
AC: There were few years where I was off in Cambridge (Carroll earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Lesley University in 2001) and I had my children, but I ended up coming back here in 1997. I remember that as a kid when our parents started the restaurant it was a family affair. We all were raised here. All our friends have worked here, all our friends’ friends, and all of our friends’ friend’s children. Their grandchildren now work here. It’s wild!
MC: Tell me a little bit about what made you apply to the Westport Cultural Council Helen E. Ellis Grant.
AC: When I was about 20 years old, I had applied to the Helen E. Ellis Grant. At the time I was doing a lot of African dance. My friend Jenn and I were going to classes in Providence where Michelle Bach-Coulibaly was teaching African dance. I was like wouldn’t this be so cool to have this in Westport? So I applied for the grant and we were denied because we were young and we didn’t have a background and you know they wanted a little more proof of who we were and what we were going to do with the funds.
MC: What made you apply this time?
AC: I applied this past year because a dear friend of mine Kathleen Doran, she’s a performing artist and she’s phenomenal. I used to babysit her here right up on Hillcrest Acres. I thought this would be so cool to be able to get her to come and sing. Another dear friend is Mike Weidenfeller, a phenomenal guitar player. I wanted to get the two of them together because they’re both bossa nova. I knew the two of them would gel. The idea was that Andre Lima from Capoeira Besouro would come and he would get the samba going and that’s when you get the audience participation you can bring people in. When I applied for the grant it was for the three artists. I felt like I was like the connecting link between the three of them and that these people would be great together and they would make magic happen.
The grant was a great opportunity for the town to bring something very diverse to Westport. As a person who grew up here, I was always struggling for culture, dance, music… you know events. I’m an artist and I was always looking for art and participation. Something where you have energy and people together. I felt like it was lacking it was always lacking.
MC: What are some of your memories of growing up in Westport?
AC: As a kid I would get off Bus 3 and I would wander around. I’d run around on the stone wall in the woods and I’d go everywhere. I always felt like there were lots of stories and lots of history you never heard about it. You never heard about the indigenous people of the area or what tribe lived here or anything like that. As I got older, one of my thesis projects at Lesley was creating a community art space that would bring dancers and art and performance to Westport. I looked up the history of the demographics of Westport and when I was in the Westport library looking up the history of Westport everything referred to the Indians in the area as savages. I’m like oh wait a minute wait a minute we’re all in this together!
MC: How did you learn about Capoeiro?
AC: Master Deraldo taught Capoeira in Boston 32 years ago. That was kind of my first introduction to the martial art. I performed with him in Boston for a year and then life went on and I had children and I ended up back here working and you know other things got in the way. Andre Lima owns Capoeira Besouro on Cape Cod and Mestre Deraldo is from Boston he teaches classes in Boston and travels between Boston and Brazil. Mestre Kinha has a huge school in Hawaii. He travels between Hawaii, Brazil, and Japan and then he’ll do guest appearances everywhere. We were very lucky to have him here and to have all three guys here at one time was amazing.
MC: Any ideas for future events?
AC: One of the dancers that was here is from San Francisco. She’s an aerial dancer so right now she’s dangling in the redwoods. She’s doing trapeze art in in the redwoods and she also does things from skyscrapers. She hangs from skyscrapers. We could have her in your trees over at the Westport Woods Conservation Area. Wouldn’t that be cool? The restaurant is closed during the winter months and I just I feel like I’m at a stage in life where I’m ready to do something more to take on more. You know, to give back more. All these ideas and wants that started from a young age you know like now is the opportunity, now is the time.
Performances include:
Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Mestre Kinha began studying capoeira at the age of 7. He has led capoeira schools in Brazil since 1990, and in 2004 he founded his own school, Capoeira Besouro in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Mestre Deraldo Ferreira is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Brazilian Cultural Center of New England. He has 40-years of experience in capoeira, samba drumming and dancing, musical composition, and choreography. He began studying capoeira at the age of 14 and founded the Academy of Capoeira in his hometown of Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Professor Andre Lima is a native Brazilian who has been practicing Capoeira for more than 18 years. He lives in Wellfleet and is the owner of Capoeira Besouro Cape Cod.
The evening also featured bossa nova/jazz musicians Kathleen Doran and Mike Widenfaller.
Kathleen Doran is a trumpet player and jazz vocalist based in New York City. She grew up in Westport and is a graduate of Berklee College of Music. Mike Widenfellar, an active member of the New England music scene for more than 20 years, performs regularly as a solo guitarist and pianist. He is a graduate of the Berklee College or Music and has a Master of Music Degree from the Longy School of Music at Bard College in Cambridge.
