Filósofo (Dolf van der Schoot) started training capoeira in 1999 with mestre Vladimir Frama (Capoeira Batuque), after having seen capoeira a few times during his travels. A year after starting training, he moved to Amsterdam and started training with mestre Marreta (Berimbau de Ouro), where he felt at place and remained. After having lived, studied and trained in Brazil for a year and a half, he started to teach upon his return – supervised by his master – and in 2007 received his teacher-cord from mestre Marreta. And so became professor Filósofo.
After that, Filósofo started to teach his own group in Amsterdam-West, and then moved to Aljezur (Portugal) where he worked with capoeira, built his group and organized various capoeira-events. In 2016 Filósofo moved to Paris (France) because of his studies, and also started teaching capoeira there at the university SciencesPo during 3 years. Since 2019 Filósofo is based in The Hague, where he built his own capoeira-group and teaches lessons and workshops.
The capoeira-group of mestre Marreta, Escola de Capoeira Berimbau de Ouro, can be understood within the tradition of capoeira contemporanea. Since his time in Brazil, where he visited the weekly rodas of mestre Sapo (Angola Mãe) and contramestre Rogerio (São Bento Pequeno), Filósofo had an interest in the tradition of capoeira Angola, an interest that grew further during his stay in Portugal. From Paris onwards, Filósofo also started to train capoeira Angola with mestre Guará (ECAP), next to still training the style of his own group.
As time evolved, the interest and passion for capoeira Angola gained ground and towards the end of 2022 Filósofo decided in dialog with mestre Marreta to leave the group Berimbau de Ouro to be able to follow his own path within this other tradition, in a new, own group. During the 30th anniversary of the New Years Event of Berimbau de Ouro, at the end of 2022, which also was the parting of Filósofo from the group, mestre Marreta awarded Filósofo the title of contramestre within the tradition of capoeira contemporanea.
Next to capoeira, Filósofo always has been involved in study, research and policy. He holds master-degrees in Political Science, Philosophy and in Education. At the moment he is involved in a PhD study. For Filósofo, capoeira and his studies always have been connected; in his life he tries to combine the two in his publications and research on capoeira.
In his classes, Filósofo pretends to pay attention to all aspects of capoeira: music, singing, movement, acrobatics, fight, culture, society and friendship. This and many other things are part of capoeira. ‘Capoeira é uma só’ is a phrase frequently used to indicate how the different traditions within capoeira all are part of capoeira. But within this, our school follows the capoeira Angola tradition, which is not just a style, but above all a way of thinking and acting.