By Diane Parkes.
Theatre audiences can look forward to some Brazilian sunshine this spring when São Paulo Dance Company tours the UK and Ireland for the first time.
The company comes to Mayflower Theatre, Southampton on 13 and 14 February with a triple bill of contemporary works by some of the world’s leading Spanish and Latin American choreographers – and artistic director Inês Bogéa is keen to share São Paulo’s electric energy.
Founded in 2008, São Paulo Dance Company has produced more than 100 classical and contemporary works, toured nearly 20 countries and performed to more than 900,000 people. And now local audiences can enjoy their expertise.
“São Paulo is a dance company with a very special Brazilian accent,” Inês says. “We have the passion for dance, we have the energy of Brazil and we love to share that with audiences around the world.”
Inés, who was the founding director when the company was created by the Brazilian state government 15 years ago, says music and dance are integral to life in her country.
“Movement and the sensation of dance is so much a part of our culture, we celebrate life through dance,” she says. “We dance around the kitchen when we are cooking, we dance at a party with our friends, we dance because we are happy and we also dance when sometimes we are sad.
“We have a temperature which is hot, we have sun for most parts of the year, and I think this affects our emotions.”
The tour features a triple bill – Anthem by Spanish choreographer Goyo Montero, Gnawa by Spain’s Nacho Duato and Agora by Cassi Abranches, who was born in São Paulo and has recently choreographed part of Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Black Sabbath – The Ballet.
“The three works talk about rituals in different ways,” says Inês. “Anthem looks at how we are connected through a common purpose that leads us to recognise ourselves as the same group. Gnawa talks about the rituals of people who live in the North of Africa and their connections with the natural world. And in Agora we are talking about time, memories and the reverberation of Brazilian dance.”
The tour of 14 towns and cities is presented by Dance Consortium, a group of 19 venues across the UK and Ireland who have come together to bring leading contemporary dance companies from across the globe to local audiences.
“I hope that on this tour the audiences enjoy themselves and feel connected with the energy, emotions and beauty of the dancers,” Inês says. “An audience is a very important part of a performance.
“We are looking forward to showing audiences a little bit of our culture and, through the dance, we will all feel the energy of Brazil.”
Tickets for São Paulo Dance Company (Tuesday 13– Wednesday 14 February 2024) are on sale at mayflower.org.uk or 02380 711811.
Five Fun Facts About Dance in Brazil
Ahead of Sao Paulo Dance Company’s visit to Southampton in February we take a look at dance in Brazil – the largest country in South America and the fifth largest in the world – where the artform is a massive part of the culture…
- Dance is as big as football in Brazil
- The country’s national dance is samba (as seen on Strictly Come Dancing). The hips don’t lie!
- There are 45 samba schools in Sao Paulo alone, they are classified into divisions and fiercely competitive – just like football
- Brazil’s thriving contemporary dance scene is inspired by its rich mix of indigenous, African and European culture
- “Movement and the sensation of dance is a huge part of Brazilian life. We dance around the kitchen when we’re cooking, we dance at a party with our friends, we dance when we’re sad, we dance when we’re happy.” says Sao Paulo Dance Company artistic director, Ines Bogea.