After the usual advanced class in the evening, some of us made our way to the Starbucks outlet at Sunway Pyramid to be a part of 8TV’s live programme called ‘Latte @ 8” (contrary to the show’s name, the broadcast was actually at midnight) where Bantus was the first of 2 parties featured in the programme that evening. The other was ‘Giler Battle’, a group of break-dancers.

We did a quick demo roda before the cameras, and then the focus was shifted to Quek and Rafael who were interviewed by host Jason Lo. Jason had done a little background research on capoeira beforehand, and so was able to ask questions to keep the interview flowing despite him not actually trying out capoeira before. Then Quek and Rafael came over to join us in the roda for another jogar which drew audible amazement from the audience, after which we gratefully retreated from the glare and heat of the bright lights.

We stayed a while to catch the breakers do their thing-they were all very talented as individuals, but unfortunately as a group they could have done better in terms of being in sync and connecting with each other. In any case, it was a good show of potential for the Malaysian break-dancing scene, which we all enjoyed too.

The next morning, a quick check on our site stats revealed that we had no less than 100 unique visitors to the Bantus website shortly after the show was aired. That’s publicity for you! Thank you to all who have shown interest in capoeira, and in our school as well. We look forward to welcoming more of you into our fold.