São Paulo Dance Company tours UK and Ireland with triple bill
“Brazilian heat and energy power the virtuoso dancers of one of Brazil’s finest dance companies in a thrilling triple bill.”
Irish premiere: Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin on 5 & 6 February
UK premiere: Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London on 9 & 10 February
14-venue tour presented by Dance Consortium
São Paulo Dance Company is at the forefront of the South American contemporary dance scene. The company’s 22 dancers match contemporary technique with the rhythm and flair of their Brazilian culture.
This February sees the company’s UK and Irish debut with a programme of dance from three choreographers rooted in Latin culture. The evening runs the gamut from “powerful and mysterious, through shimmering enchantment to a joyous explosion of Brazilian pizzazz”.
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 the ‘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 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 the well-known 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 artistic director, Inês Bogéa. A dancer, film-maker and writer, Bogéa is 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.
Anthem
Gnawa
Agora
Anthem / Gnawa / Agora
Anthem (25 minutes) / interval (20 minutes) / Gnawa (23 minutes) / pause (3 minutes) / Agora (20 minutes)
Monday 5 and Tuesday 6 February at 7.30pm
Bord Gais Energy Theatre, DUBLIN
Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2 D02 PA03
Tickets: +353 (0) 1 677 7999 / www.bordgaisenergytheatre.ie
Friday 9 and Saturday 10 February at 7.30pm
Sadler’s Wells Theatre, LONDON
Rosebery Ave, London EC1R 4TN
Tickets: 020 7863 8000 / www.sadlerswells.com
Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 February at 7.30pm
Mayflower Theatre SOUTHAMPTON
22-26 Commercial Road, Southampton SO15 1GE
Tickets: 023 8071 1811 / www.mayflower.org.uk
Friday 16 and Saturday 17 February at 7.30pm
Royal Concert Hall, NOTTINGHAM
Theatre Square, Nottingham NG1 5ND
Tickets: 0115 989 5555 / https://trch.co.uk/
Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 February at 7.30pm
The Marlowe Theatre, CANTERBURY
The Friars, Canterbury CT1 2AS
Tickets: 01227 787787 / https://marlowetheatre.com/
Friday 23 and Saturday 24 February at 7.30pm
PLYMOUTH Theatre Royal
Royal Parade, Plymouth PL1 2TR
Tickets: 01752 267222 / www.theatreroyal.com
Tuesday 27 February and Wednesday 28 February at 7.30pm
Brighton Dome BRIGHTON
Church St, Brighton BN1 1UE
Tickets: 01273 709709 / https://brightondome.org/
Friday 1 and Saturday 2 March at 7.30pm
Hull New Theatre HULL
Kingston Square, Hull HU1 3HF
Tickets: 01482 300306 / https://www.hulltheatres.co.uk/
Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 March at 7.30pm
NEWCASTLE Theatre Royal
100 Grey St, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 6BR
Tickets: 0191 232 7010 / www.theatreroyal.co.uk
Friday 8 and Saturday 9 March at 7.30pm
Alhambra Theatre, BRADFORD
Morley St, Bradford BD7 1AJ
Tickets: 01274 432000 / https://www.bradford-theatres.co.uk/
Tuesday 12 and Wednesday 13 March at 7.30pm
The Lowry, Salford Quays SALFORD
Pier 8, Salford Quays M50 3AZ
Tickets: 0161 876 2000 / https://thelowry.com/
Friday 15 and Saturday 16 March at 7.30pm
WOLVERHAMPTON Grand Theatre
Lichfield St, Wolverhampton WV1 1DE
Tickets: 01902 42 92 12 / www.grandtheatre.co.uk
Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 March at 7.30pm
Eden Court INVERNESS
Bishops Rd, Inverness IV3 5SA
Tickets: 01463 234234 / https://eden-court.co.uk/
Friday 22 and Saturday 23 March at 7.30pm
NORWICH Theatre Royal§
Theatre ST, Norwich NR2 1RL
Tickets: 01603 630000 / https://norwichtheatre.org/
Dance Consortium
Dance Consortium is a group of 19 large-scale venues based across the UK and Ireland that have a shared passion for engaging people with the best contemporary dance from across the world. Since its formation in 2000, Dance Consortium has presented over 50 tours by 27 different companies (from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, France, The Netherlands, South Africa, Taiwan, Israel and the USA). Dance Consortium’s performances and education activities have been experienced by around 750,000 people across all parts of the UK. Dance Consortium receives investment as a national portfolio organisation of Arts Council England.
Dance Consortium members are Grand Opera House Belfast; Birmingham Hippodrome; Alhambra Theatre, Bradford; Brighton Dome; Marlowe Theatre Canterbury; Wales Millennium Centre Cardiff; Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin; Festival Theatre Edinburgh; Eden Court Inverness; Sadler’s Wells Theatre and The Peacock London; Milton Keynes Theatre; Theatre Royal Newcastle; Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall Nottingham; Theatre Royal Plymouth; The Lowry Salford; Mayflower Theatre, Southampton; Hull New Theatre; Norwich Theatre Royal; and Wolverhampton Grand.
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
