Latin America: Pindorama

Brasil - Rio de Janeiro

One of the most important artists currently working in contemporary dance, Lia Rodrigues is known for her politically-aware creations and for her activities in the favelas of Brazil. Her most recent production takes us back to Brazil 'before', when this vast country was called Pindorama in the language of the indigenous Tupi, before the arrival of the conquistadors. She transports us back to the 'before' of the theatre, too, to a time when the theatrical act was still bound up with ritual, to a place where a huge length of see-through vinyl can become a river, or, when the dancers pull maniacally at its two ends, an uncrossable ocean that swallows up men—the naked bodies of weak human creatures struggling against the forces of nature, searching for a way to coexist, to function collectively and so survive.

"Pindorama" is an ephemeral visual and theatrical landscape which engulfs the audience and everything that takes place before their eyes. It is a metaphor for the collective struggles of our era, an honest look at difference, and a masterly poetic work which introduces us to one of the most important choreographic voices at work today.