Samurai Davis faced one of his pubescent pupils at the bottom of the Reitz Union amphitheatre. The air was thick with humidity and the sound of an archaic drumbeat.
The adversaries approached and attacked. For some onlookers, it was difficult to tell if they were performing or actually locked in combat.
The pair’s feet would briefly meet at the height of a spinning kick, before their momentum pulled them back into the orbit of the attack. The beating of an wooden hand drum kept them in a feverish rhythm.
The attention of the Reitz Union amphitheatre was captured as master and student demonstrated Capoeira, a Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance and music.
Finally, the routine ended.
Davis and his 10 students climbed out of the amphitheatre with waves of cheers and applause crashing down on them.
They had just performed at Gatormania, a student organization fair showcasing diversity on campus.
He couldn’t help but to smile as he exited, the performance had been a success for his two organizations: the UF Capoeira Club and Capoeira Ascensao.
“One of our big forms of advertisement is to perform in front of people,” Davis said.
The UF Capoeira Club was one of about 100 sports clubs, community service organizations and multicultural fraternities and sororities at the 11th annual Gatormania carnival Friday night.
The purpose of the event is to portray UF as a diverse campus, recruit freshmen and other new members to participating organizations, executive director Rocio Granela said.
Granela estimated about 1,000 freshmen attended the event, which was held on the Reitz North lawn.
“It’s the biggest Summer B event on campus,” she said.
She attributed the high turnout to Gatormania’s new partnership with GatorNights.
Gatormania is traditionally held on a Saturday afternoon, but this year the event and the semester’s first GatorNights were held simultaneously.
Students who exited the Reitz Union after viewing 21 Jump Street were greeted with tables offering food, games and information that lined the Reitz Union north lawn and colonnade.
Brandon Harris, an 18-year-old business administration major, came to the event with some of his friends who live in different dorms. He held a pile of brochures he had collected about becoming involved in different student organizations.
Harris said was impressed by the persistence of the organizations to show their diversity and existence to students.
“I don’t know how I’d find everything if they weren’t in one place,” he said.
