A dance ensemble dedicated to an art form created by Brazilian slaves is making its painful way back from a terrible night on Bigelow Boulevard three years ago.

Nego Gato Afro-Brazilian Music and Dance Ensemble is a Pittsburgh company that performs Capoeira N'Golo. Created by Brazilian slaves from Angola, capoeira is a combination of rhythmic singing, live instruments, dancing and a style of fighting where hands are never used to strike blows.

Slaves in Bahia would use the music and the artistic style of their sparring sessions, which they ironically characterized as "play," to practice fighting in a way that couldn't be detected by their overseers. As performed now, capoeira combines dance, gymnastics and acrobatics.

Following an Oct. 9, 2005, performance by Nego Gato, two teenage members of the troupe were killed when a car driven by an instructor crashed along Bigelow Boulevard.

Witnesses said the teacher, then-20-year-old Shamiah Gilbert, of the Hill District, and her friend, 21-year-old Amece Worthy, of Garfield, were drag racing along Bigelow at the time of the accident.

Drummer David Dixon, 17, of Brookline and dancer Derik Edmunds, 16, of Homewood, were killed when Ms. Gilbert lost control of her car near Frank Curto Park. It hit the center rail and rolled several times, ejecting all five occupants.

Both Ms. Gilbert and Ms. Worthy were convicted on charges related to the teens' deaths.

The accident devastated the victims' families and split apart the close-knit ensemble, which dwindled to a handful of members.

Because the group's performance includes dance, music and martial arts moves, it required years of training and strong commitment, said Justin Laing, former assistant director of Nego Gato. As time passed, membership in classes waned and, as a result, the performance ensemble diminished.

"Small and mid-sized arts organizations go up and down because they're usually based on the work of a small amount of people," said Mr. Laing.

The two teens had been intensively trained and were dedicated members of the ensemble, he said. Ms. Gilbert was an instructor who was important in training members.

"That's what's so sad about it -- what they were already bringing to the company and losing people who were already dedicated."

When Mr. Laing left the ensemble to take a position as a program officer with the Heinz Endowments in 2006, he said there was a core group of about six people doing local performances. Two years earlier Nego Gato had performed with about two dozen people.

The decline prompted the school's founder, who had relocated to Florida, to refocus his attention on Pittsburgh. Master capoeirista Jose "Nego Gato" Sena, who is a choreographer, percussionist, vocalist and dancer, had gone to Florida to open another school when the Pittsburgh troupe was at its peak in 2004.

"Now I will be moving back and forth because I see things in this area are a little off balance," he said as his new instructor, Eric Biesecker, led a class discussion in their Uptown studio. A native of Bahia, Brazil, a place tied directly to the origins of Capoeira N'Golo, Mr. Sena met Mr. Biesecker, who also studied capoeira in Brazil for five years, while teaching classes in Florida.

After roughly a year of regular training, Mr. Sena sent Mr. Biesecker to Pittsburgh to step into the role once held by Mr. Laing.

After two months, Mr. Biesecker said the program is getting better, but still has a great deal of room to expand.

"We're very open to new students and we want to do whatever we can to bring them in, but it takes a lot of dedication," he said. "People come into this and think it's like 'Sweating to the Oldies' but it's a philosophy in life."

Mr. Biesecker said the same philosophy that allowed slaves to survive circumstances unimaginable today could be applied to develop the combination of discipline, group cohesion and yes, play, to help people survive the difficulties of modern times.

"It's a holistic life changing art, that's what separates it from other arts. It demands you to become more conscious of other people and of how you carry yourself, which is what martial arts are about in the first place," he said.

Mr. Sena said he would split time between the Florida school and the Pittsburgh school until he can find a house in Pittsburgh. Although he also has schools in New York and Washington D.C., he said he wants to be around to make sure his Pittsburgh school, and particularly neighborhood programs that took the art to African-American neighborhoods like the Hill District, are up and running.

"This is helping kids learn about their culture," he said. "You have to have discipline, respect, and you learn about your African culture.

"I have to come here to try to make things right."