Our Teachers

Luz Emma Cañas M.A., graduated with highest honors from the Chicano Studies Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She was a Graduate Fellow in the Department of World Arts and Cultures, U.C.L.A., while attaining her master's degree in Dance Movement Therapy and Rehabilitative Exercise. Extensively trained in classical ballet and modern dance, she has taught Pilates for over sixteen years. She was certified at Golden Bridge, Los Angeles, by the Kundalini Research Institute (KRI) in Kundalini Yoga and Meditation in 2003. She has studied Sufi mysticism and healing in the Shadhiliyya Sufi Path under the guidance of Sidi Shaykh Muhammad al-Jamal ar-Rifa’i as-Shadhuli for over ten years and has been researching the healing aspects of Capoeira Angola. Luz has worked with a wide variety of clientele ranging from pre-verbal children to recording artists. She has led workshops on the mind-body interface at Columbia University, Harlem Hospital and for American Airlines. Currently, she is giving continuity to the Capoeira passed down to her through her husband, Mestre Jorge (may he rest is peace) through Capoeira Muçurumim. 

Adrian Miles, began training Capoeira Angola in Los Angeles in 2003. Since then, he has been in contact with renowned Capoeira Angola masters and their elder students taking workshops, learning directly and indirectly from them. Through Capoeira Muçurumim, Adrian is helping give continuity to the integration of teachings and philosophy of Mestre Moraes and Mestre Jorge by co-teaching classes and workshops for the Department of Education, NYC and the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute. Adrian is also a free-lance photographer currently exploring the moving picture. His debut short film, Pas de Deux, was Official Selection in four international film festivals in 2016.