Brazilian heat and energy power the virtuoso dancers of one of Brazil’s
finest dance companies in a thrilling triple bill.
The company’s UK and Irish debut tour, visiting the Royal Concert Hall Nottingham on 16 & 17 February, brings a programme of dance from three choreographers all rooted in Latin culture. The evening runs the gamut from powerful and mysterious, through shimmering enchantment to a joyous explosion of Brazilian pizzazz.
The epic and emotionally-charged Anthem was created on the company in 2019 by Spain’s Goyo Montero, resident choreographer with Cuba’s Acosta Danza. Anthem reflects on life-cycles and collective identities, inspired by songs that become hymns – anthems – for an individual, a group, a generation or a nation. Montero’s frequent collaborator Owen Belton provides a unifying and uplifting soundscore.
Nacho Duato, artistic director of the Mikhailovsky Ballet, brings the intensity of Mediterranean heat and colour to his sensual Gnawa. Created in 2005 and restaged on São Paulo Dance Company in 2009, it’s a dancework under the spell of the hypnotic, ritualistic music of North Africa (created by seven composers – Hassan Hakmoun, Adam Rudolph, Juan Alberto Arteche, Javier Paxariño, Rabih Abou-Khalil, Velez and Kusur e Sarkissian). Duato was inspired by the mystical Islamic fellowship of the Gnawa people, brought to North Africa by the Berber as slaves.
Brazilian choreographer Cassi Abranches’ colourful and flirtatious Agora provides an exhilarating finale. Created in 2019, this is the third commission for the company from Abranches, a former dancer with iconic Brazilian company, Grupo Corpo. Exploring time and rhythm, she sculpts the movement of each dancer’s body to the percussive beats and bass grooves of
Sebastian Piracés’ score, mixing drums and Afro-Brazilian percussion with rock music and vocals.
Since its founding by Brazil’s state government in 2008, São Paulo Dance Company has been under the leadership of its charismatic artistic director, Inês Bogéa. A dancer, film-maker and writer, Bogéa is widely credited with having built a superb classically-trained company which has produced over 100 dance works, almost 50 of them original commissions, and performed to more than 900,000 people in 18 different countries.
Bogéa says: “In 1994, I toured British theatres as a dancer with Grupo Corpo. It was a very intense time, full of art and exchange of experiences. 30 years later, as São Paulo Dance Company’s artistic director, I am thrilled to be back in the UK and Ireland on this Dance Consortium tour. We hope our art opens an expressive, intense and enjoyable channel of communication with our audiences.”
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Bord Gáis Energy Theatre Dublin
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Fri 9 – Sat 10 Feb 2024Sadler’s Wells London
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Tue 13 – Wed 14 Feb 2024Mayflower Theatre Southampton
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Fri 16 – Sat 17 Feb 2024Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
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Tue 20 – Wed 21 Feb 2024Marlowe Theatre Canterbury
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Fri 23 – Sat 24 Feb 2024Theatre Royal Plymouth
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Tue 27 – Wed 28 Feb 2024Brighton Dome
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Fri 1 – Sat 2 Mar 2024Hull New Theatre
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Tue 5 – Wed 6 Mar 2024Theatre Royal Newcastle
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Fri 8 – Sat 9 Mar 2024Alhambra Theatre Bradford
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Tue 12 – Wed 13 Mar 2024The Lowry Salford Quays
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Fri 15 – Sat 16 Mar 2024Wolverhampton Grand Theatre
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Tue 19 – Wed 20 Mar 2024Eden Court Theatre Inverness
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Fri 22 – Sat 23 Mar 2024Theatre Royal Norwich
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