DanceBrazil continues to blur the boundary between capoeira and modern dance with their latest season at The Joyce Theater

Formed by choreographer Jelon Vieira in 1977, DanceBrazil incorporates elements of Afro-Brazilian culture, especially the martial art of Capoeira, into their modern dance works. On Wednesday evening, the company presented two pieces at the Joyce Theater: Banguela and Memórias.

Banguela is a well-crafted celebration of Brazil’s unique capoeira culture, expressed through a striking balance of sincerity and physicality.  “Banguela,” as the program notes explain, is “a special rhythm played to calm down the capoeiristas when their play in the roda gets too heated.”  In the dance Banguela, Vieira draws the audience into the capoeirista’s meditative state. The dancers move with such strength and control that at times they appear to defy gravity, as if time is slowed and blurred by the Banguela rhythm.

The piece begins with the company dressed in white and dancing through a series of luscious motions with satisfying clarity, their arms carving through space in round gestures as if drawing the air into a large embrace.  When the music starts, the company forms a circle and dances inwards, referencing the capoeira “roda” formation.

The highlight of Banguela is a duet between Paulo Silva and Raphael Novaes.  The two men move through a continuous series of cartwheels, low leg sweeps and backbends with grace and flair.  For the most part they maintain eye contact, keeping with the original tradition of capoeira.  At certain points, however, the capoeiristas shift their movement toward the audience, running their hands in the air facing an invisible partner.  In capoeira, partners use these hand gestures as a means of familiarizing themselves with their partner and focusing on their partner’s movements.  By splicing the capoeira pair and turning the dancers towards us, Vieira makes the audience the partner, and invites us into the sacred and historically significant space of the capoeira circle.

While I am delighted by the craftsmanship and execution of Banguela, I am unfortunately disappointed by the second piece, Memórias, which unfolds through as a muddled series of vignettes.  In this topic-heavy work, a number of powerful ideas (such as Brazil’s modernization -referenced by honking car sound effects- and the country’s history of slavery and perseverance) are introduced but are not adequately developed.  DanceBrazil’s usual focus, energy and clarity are lost amid the wide-range of topics and sentiments.

Although not as apparent in this program, Vieira is known for utilizing his dancers’ athleticism and virtuosity to create powerful modern dances that draw upon the strength of Brazil’s own movement and music traditions.  The company’s past seasons are better examples of this, and I look forward to seeing the DanceBrazil’s next engagement at The Joyce.

Photography by Tom Pich

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Tze Chun
Performance: DanceBrazil
Choreography: Jelon Vieira
Venue: The Joyce Theater, New York City
Performance Date: April 1^st, 2010
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Basil Twist – Petrushka Suite

Basil Twist utilizes his mastery of Czech and Japanese puppetry to replace dancers with life-sized puppets in this reenactment of the classical Russian love story, Petrushka.  Twist cleverly reworks this original story so that the puppeteers who are usually hidden are now placed in the forefront allowing the audience to see the puppeteers’ intricate movements and technical abilities.  The puppets truly come to life in this ballet.  With three puppeteers manipulating each puppet, there is certainly complicated choreography that goes into maneuvering around the puppet.  Two ballets are going on at the same time in Basil Twist’s version of Petrushka Suite. This is a charming and refreshing approach to classical ballet and definitely appeals to a wide audience.

Monica Bill Barnes and Company – I Feel Like

I Feel Like is a delightfully fun and light exploration of ordinary women and what it means to feel sexy.  Three women wear extremely un-sexy drab looking turtleneck sweaters with pleated, knee length skirts.  They are feeling sexy and they want to show it.  At times comical with the women appearing unhinged and almost paranoid, dancers Anna Bass, Monica Bill Barnes, and Deborah Lohse each possess strong acting skills.  In this wonderful piece, each dancer, in her own way, accomplishes her own version of sexiness.  The aim of this company is the celebration of individuality, humor, and the joy of everyday life.  Ms. Barnes certainly accomplishes these goals and then some in I Feel Like.  

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo – Go for Barocco

The thing that makes Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo spectacular is not just that they’re dressed up as ballerinas wearing pointe shoes; it’s the fact that they’re actually incredible dancers who are so good at what they do that one forgets they’re dudes!

The men of Les Ballets Trockadero offer us a playful, entertaining look at traditional, classical ballet in parody form.  It is apparent that these men are highly skilled technicians who know much about the eccentricities of numerous dance styles.  Brock Hayhoe and Joshua Grant play jealous lovers who are constantly trying to out-do the other person.  They are both extremely funny and brilliantly entertaining.  The ballet sticks to its classicism, with a few twists and turns along the way.  The Trocks, as they are nicknamed, are probably my favorites of the night.  Bravo!

DanceBrazil – Culture in Motion

DanceBrazil creates the final big bang of the night with their unique fusion of Afro-Brazilian movement, contemporary dance, and Capoeira:  a dance/martial arts form that uses speed, power, grace, and incredibly precise motion.  The ten highly muscled male dancers all posses an amount of competitiveness with their fellow dancers.  With this competitiveness is also a strong sense of brotherhood.  The cultural influence of this performance is strongly felt with the five drummers upstage of the dancers, beating on snare drums. This awesome performance ends in a Capoeira type of contest where the dancers pair up and try to out-do each other with incredible tricks such as back flips and kicking one’s leg impossibly close to the other person.

The four pieces on the program all bring something different to the stage.  This is a smartly crafted program and I applaud not only the breathtaking dancers, but also the program directors who coordinated the line-up of the performers.  I definitely have fallen deeper in love with dance after watching City Center’s Fall For Dance.

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Amanda Keller
Performance:  Fall For Dance
Venue:  City Center, New York City 
Show Date:  Sunday, September 27, 2009
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