Loremil Machado (born 1953 or 1954; died March 11, 1994) was a teacher and performer of Afro-Brazilian dance.
He and fellow dancer, Jelon Vieira, are considered to be responsible for the introduction of capoeira to the United States.
[1] Machado and Vieira, both natives of Bahia, Brazil, came to New York City in 1975, to perform in a production of the play Parto by Brazilian playwright Gilda Grillo and Maria Isabel Barreno.
[4] And author Matthias Röhrig Assunção says "many people believe [their] performances inspired the break dance craze of the 1980s.
The class was full to the corners and we were all ready for our athletic, jumping, twirling, kicking, giving much quick knees and feet..."[8] Pioneering Black filmmaker Warrington Hudlin produced and directed a 1980 documentary short, Capoeira of Brazil, featuring Vieira, Machado, Eusebio da Silva, and their students.