"DANCE LIKE A FIGHT": DANCE BRAZIL AT EDISON, FEBRUARY 23-25, 2007
February 16, 2007..... DanceBrazil brings its scorching blend of samba, contemporary dance, and the high-kicking Afro-Brazilian martial art of Capoeira (ca-poh-WAY-ruh) to the Edison Theatre on February 23-25. Dance St. Louis and Edison's OVATIONS! Series co-present this exuberant company in performances at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, February 23 and 24, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 25.
"My work is contemporary but very rooted to the traditions of Brazilian culture," says Jelon Viera, DanceBrazil's founder and artistic director. DanceBrazil is especially rooted in the African dance traditions of Bahia, the country's northeastern province, where more than half the people are descended from enslaved Africans brought by the Portuguese to work sugar plantations. Capoeira first developed in the 16th and 17th centuries when the slaves disguised their self-defense moves as dances to deceive their colonial captors.
Vieira describes Capoeira as "a fight like a dance, and a dance like a fight." The slaves "played" the round, fluid, low-to-the-ground movements to pulsating musical beats that remain part of Capoeira. Some say the moves--in which only head, hands, and feet touch the ground--were developed to avoid dirtying the white religious clothes worn by the slaves.
The wildly athletic martial art features air-slicing kicks, one-handed handstands, and rapid-fire cartwheels. DanceBrazil includes musicians who play traditional instruments including the berimbau, a musical bow made of a gourd, a long wooden pole, and a single string, whose rhythms drive the Capoeira rituals. Drums and tambourines may also accompany the call-and-response songs, which tell old stories of slavery and new tales of life and love in Vieira's native Bahia.
Vieira and the late Loremil Machado were the first artists to bring Capoeira to the United States.
DanceBrazil got its start in 1975 when Vieira--speaking no English--first came to New York City as a 19-year-old student on a scholarship at the Alvin Ailey School of American Dance. With Ailey's support, Vieira founded his own dance company in 1977 and developed a unique style that synthesized Capoeira, samba, modern dance, and ballet. The company was soon traveling throughout Europe and the United States, performing at prestigious venues such as the John F. Kennedy and Lincoln Centers.
In the years since Capoeira has achieved widespread popularity (second only to soccer in Brazil); its influence can be seen in both modern and hip-hop performances. Vieira now divides his time between New York and Boca do Rio, Brazil, using Capoeira to build self-esteem, self-discipline and a sense of social consciousness in children and young adults. In 1999 CityLore, a New York City community organization, inducted Vieira into its Hall of Fame. In 2000 he was recognized by the Brazilian Cultural Center in New York City as the Pioneer of Capoeira in the United States.
Tickets are $30 for the general public, $25 for seniors, and $18 for students. They are available at the Dance St. Louis box office at 3547 Olive Street, the Edison Theatre box office at the Mallinckrodt Center at Washington University, and all MetroTix outlets. Tickets are also available by calling Dance St. Louis at 314-534-6622 or MetroTix at 314-534-1111 and via the website dancestlouis.org. Handling charges apply to all phone, Internet and outlet purchases.