Jessica Carla de Lima-Moran AKA “Pavão,” has been a capoeirista for 22 years, training and teaching under world-renowned Capoeira master, Mestre Boneco of Capoeira Brasil Los Angeles (CBLA). She is managing director at the CBLA Headquarters in Mid-City Los Angeles and alongside her husband, Sean “Chegado” Moran, owns and operates CounterBalance LA, a boutique martial arts, fitness and body movement space in Northeast LA. CounterBalance is home to Pavão’s passion, a large youth and adult Capoeira program that has been serving the community since 2005.
In addition to running CBLA & CounterBalance, Pavão also works throughout Los Angeles teaching and speaking about Capoeira at schools, cultural festivals, corporate events, and community programs. These special events and residencies serve hundreds of youth and families throughout the year.
Pavão produces the annual International Capoeira Festival which is one of the largest events of its kind in the United States, attracting a huge number of local, national and international participants. She is widely recognized as a leader and innovator in the art of Capoeira.
When she is not working with Capoeira locally, Pavão travels extensively teaching and training throughout the world. She has participated in and taught at countless Capoeira seminars and conferences. She enjoys writing about Capoeira, and lectures on the history, origins, and development of the art.
In addition to teaching Capoeira, Pavão also works in fitness and body movement. She and her husband and teaching partner, Chegado, have developed a fitness training system called Body Balance.
Beyond Capoeira and Body Balance, Pavão has also worked with the nationally recognized Summer Night Lights program, a project of the Gang Reduction Youth Development Office (GRYD) of Los Angeles. She has also worked in marketing, special event planning, and produced two short films.
As a result of her work with Capoeira and youth in the community she has become a fierce advocate for at-risk youth and enjoys mentoring.
Formanda Pavão has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of California at Berkeley. She received her title of ‘Formanda’ and was awarded her brown cord under Mestre Boneco in September 2017.
