OUR TEAM

​CAPOEIRA

CONTRA MESTRE TINTA FORTE

Contra Mestre Tinta Forte, as he is known in the capoeira community, was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago in the West Pullman neighborhood. After high school, Victor started training in the Afro-Brazilian martial art of capoeira with Mestre Marisa Cordeiro of Gingarte Capoeira in 1999. Mestre Marisa’s capoeira group was often booked to perform at Brazilian cultural shows. As a performer, Victor was able to experience all parts of the city and is grateful for this art that teaches pride through an Afrocentric experience.

Although the majority of his capoeira training has been in Chicago, Contra Mestre Tinta Forte has trained capoeira all over the world including extensive periods of time in Brazil. He managed his own capoeira group while living in Albuquerque, New Mexico for several years before returning to Chicago. Contra Mestre Tinta Forte has taught throughout the United States and abroad. He earned the rank of Contra Mestre in 2022 .

Contra Mestre Tinta Forte teaches with safety as a priority and is American Red Cross CPR, First Aid, and Illinois Mandated Reporter certified.

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PROFESSOR EMBUIA

Professor Embuia has been training capoeira for over 17 years in Chicago and has traveled extensively nationally and internationally to capoeira events.

Professor Embuia has also hosted virtual workshops for Rise Training Academy on health and nutrition. In addition to being a martial artist, he also works as Community Engagement Manager for Healthy Schools Campaign.

Professor Embuia currently teaches our capoeira adults classes and performs at our community events.

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INSTRUCTORA DE BOA

Instructora De Boa is a Filipina-American born and raised in Chicago and based on the city's South Side. She began training Capoeira under Mestre Marisa Cordeiro in 2015 and has trained under Contra Mestre Tinta Forte since 2016. She earned the rank of Instructora in 2026.

Instructora De Boa teaches youth and adult Capoeira through Rise Training Academy's academy classes and school partnership programs. As Co-Owner, she oversees the academy's programming, staff and student support, financial and marketing operations, merchandise, strategic partnerships, and community initiatives.

​She is committed to expanding access to Capoeira while building meaningful partnerships that strengthen health, culture, and community throughout Chicago's South Side.

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MESTRE MARISA CORDEIRO

Rise Training trains under the tutelage of Mestre Marisa Cordeiro. She ranks among the highest female capoeiristas in the United States. Mestre Marisa is a leader of the Brazilian community in Chicago and founder of her group Gingarte Capoeira in 1991.

Born in Curvelo, Brazil, Mestre Marisa is a student of Mestre Suassuna and trained at the prestigious Cordão de Ouro Capoeira Academy in São Paulo with other top masters such as Mestre Canguru and Mestre Urubu Malandro. She is well respected in Brazil and around the world as a pioneer for women in capoeira.

ADULTS BJJ & STRENGTH & SELF-DEFENSE

KEITH BIBBS

Keith is an experienced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and competitor who brings technical expertise and a genuine passion for helping beginners build confidence on the mats. He specializes in creating a welcoming, supportive environment where students can develop strong fundamentals, improve fitness, and progress at their own pace.

In addition to his martial arts background, Keith is a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Certified Personal Trainer and holds a NASM Behavior Change Specialist certification. He is also CPR/AED certified for adults, children, and infants.

Keith understands that lasting progress comes from both physical training and the right mindset. His coaching focuses on safe technique, sustainable improvement, and helping each student build discipline, resilience, and self-belief through consistent practice.

SAMBA

​JOSHLEAN FAIR

Joshlean Fair is a native of Chicago and trained for 10 years with the Percussion Scholarship Program.  This technical musical training, and her familial roots in jazz and dance, instilled a deep appreciation for the arts across the Diaspora.  During her graduate studies, diving into the Tropicália era of music in Brazil was not only an outlet from her studies but also inspired a desire to study Brazilian dance. 

Upon returning to Chicago, her love for samba was birthed and cemented under the tutelage of Dill Costa at the Old Town School of Folk Music.  Joshlean has been studying Samba and Brazilian folk dance with Dill Costa for 4 years now, and through her, has also studied with numerous professional Brazilian artists, such as Pablo Guerreiro, and with the International Samba Congress.

Joshlean has also had the privilege to parade three times at Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro with prestigious samba schools such as Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel, Unidos de Padre Miguel, and as a solo-style dancer, or Musa, with União de Jacarepaguá.

​Samba has been a symbol of new beginnings for Joshlean, and a reminder that we all are always on the brink of a new beginning of self-discovery, expression, and service.  Her hopes are to continue to study, teach, and honor the art of samba and share this dance form across Chicago and beyond.  Joshlean currently works in Chicago in Rheumatological clinical research.  Joshlean performs at various venues and events throughout Chicago with groups such as Gingarte Capoeira, Bloco Maximo, and the Dill Costa Dance Group.

HOUSE FLOW

JORDAN "J.RO" ORDOÑEZ

Jordan “J.RO” Ordoñez (he/they) is a Chicago-based dance artist and athlete, tenor II, actor, teaching artist, program and partnership developer, and an arts & culture organizer.

He is a queer, Filipino public health pharmacist turned artist with a black belt in Shotokan Karate, who started his artist journey as a dancer with the Hip Hop ConnXion in 2008 and is a co-founder of Jus.Be House Collective, as well as a member of BraveSoul Movement Company, Imagination Theater, and Movement Revolution Dance Crew.

​J.Ro is also a previous dancer and co-captain of the Chicago Bulls 312 Crew and a previous guest artist with Chicago Dance Crash and Culture Shock Chicago.

Notable credits include the 2023 NBA Allstar Weekend, Chosen Few House Music Festival, Music Theater Works’ Pippen, Tems, Chicago Dance Crash’s Booms Day, and FOX’s The Big Leap.

J.Ro is a grateful guest and forever student in House Dance and Hip-Hop movement. They have traveled throughout the country to programs like the BoomCrack Dance Company Adult Intensive and the CFOlogy Chicago Footwork Intensive in Chicago (IL), the Dance Fusion/ EliteForce/ Missfitss 36 Chambaz of Stylz intensive in New York City (NY), and Street Style Lab in Los Angeles (CA).

He currently teaches for three majority black-led teaching nonprofits, Creative Netwerk, Red Clay Dance Center, and Forward Momentum Chicago, in residency within the Chicago Public Schools and other community-based site partners. He also teaches House Dance Foundation in residency with TextureDance Studio (queer and black-led) in the Buena Park neighborhood. He has over seventeen years of combined experience (2007-present) teaching movement and sport to youth, as young as 5 years old, to adults. He has taught from areas within Chicago’s south and west sides, as well as its suburbs.

QI GONG + TAI CHI

MALIK VOYARD

Malik Voyard began his martial arts training in Boston, Massachusetts, where he started studying Yang Style Tai Chi in 2015. After graduating from college in 2019, Malik relocated to Chicago and began studying Qigong and Shaolin Kung Fu under the instruction of Shifu Mesan Williams, expanding his understanding of both internal and external aspects of martial arts. Over the past 11 years, his practice has continued to evolve through a dedication to internal martial arts, movement, and traditional training methods.

In 2024, Malik began his doctoral studies in Acupuncture and Herbalism, further deepening his understanding of traditional East Asian approaches to health, movement, and cultivation. He brings this perspective into his martial arts practice, viewing Tai Chi and Qigong not simply as physical disciplines, but as methods for developing strength, stability, flexibility, awareness, and balance. Malik’s approach to training emphasizes consistency, mindful movement, and the integration of body and mind. Through his practice and instruction, he seeks to help students develop a stronger connection to their bodies while cultivating the discipline and awareness that form the foundation of martial arts