Piracema

Eleven bodies rolled, washed, tumbled over the stage like a wave, a flowing movement that remained in motion from beginning to end: Pororoca*, a production by the Brazilian choreographer Lia Rodrigues which we showed at last year’s Kunstenfestivaldesarts, was astonishing in its liveliness, effort and power. And now Rodrigues is returning with a new creation.

Piracema* is again a piece for eleven dancers, which explores in greater depth the relationships between the group and the individual – a theme that was already to be seen in Pororoca. This time the starting point is provided by the dancers’ personal stories: from the little everyday incidents to the great wild dreams and desires. These performers master Rodrigues’ powerful, energetic dance idiom: an intense sense of collectivity arises of its own accord on stage, out of the figurative clash of their own individual emotions and dreams and the physical clash of their bodies.

Lia Rodrigues and her Companhia de Danças have been working from their base in Maré, one of the biggest favelas in the heart of Rio De Janeiro, since 1990. Their activities are not limited to creating and rehearsing choreographic works. The Casa de Cultura, which Rodrigues heads, is also home to a dance course; in addition to lessons for beginners and professionals, workshops, talks and debates are also organised there. These activities are either free or very cheap: in this way a new audience from the slums is being built up. Throughout her work, Rodrigues combines the artistic with the social and educational. She is utterly convinced that, by way of encounter and dialogue, and by openness and research in the long term, new social forms can be found so that the less well-off can find a place for themselves in society.

* ‘Pororoca’ is an indigenous Tupi word. It describes the waves rushing in from the ocean into the Amazon delta, against the river’s current. ‘Piracema’ describes fishes swimming against the river’s current in order to spawn.