Adventures of a Gringa

DanceBrazil

This weekend, I saw DanceBrazil for the first time in the company's last performance of the spring season at the Joyce. It's about time, since the New York-based company has been around since 1977 and are one of those Brazilian cultural institutions in the US that has gained critical acclaim the world over. I'm a little skeptical when it comes to modern dance, but I was thrilled to discover that thanks to the company's director, Jelon Vieira, there's a wonderful blend of both contemporary dance, capoeira, and other Brazilian dance forms, all set to amazing, mostly live music.

A little background: originally from Salvador, Mestre Jelon Vieira moved to Europe in the 1970s, and during a trip to the US, fell for New York and had the incredible opportunity to be offered a scholarship by Alvin Ailey. He studied with Ailey, who urged him to choreograph his own work, and Vieira formed his own company in 1977. Originally called Os Capoeira da Bahia, Ailey (who went on to be a board member of the new company) suggested Vieira change the name to something easier for Americans to pronounce and understand, and so he called it DanceBrazil. Vieira was one of the first people to bring capoeira to the US, and has taught at universities all over the US and in Brazil. He has also founded other capoeira groups in the US and Brazil, including a school in Salvador where he began grooming dancers for DanceBrazil, and now several of his students dance with the company. He was also featured in a 2005 documentary about his work, though I haven't been able to find anywhere

The company currently has twelve Brazilian dancers and several musicians, including dancers originally trained in classical ballet, and others originally trained in capoeira, as well as several fantastic percussionists.

The team over at Roda Magazine produced a great short documentary about the company, so take a look:

Interview with Dance Brazil from Roda Magazine on Vimeo.

(Also, during the New York season, DanceBrazil performed on TV, and provided some amusement in explaining to the FOX 5 anchors exactly what capoeira was.)

According to Vieira in the documentary, the company has had success with audiences, but has struggled with American critics. Judging by the latest review from the New York Times, I see what he means. I think, though, the more capoeira and Brazilian elements, and the less Ailey-type movement they can fit in a single performance, the better the reception will be.

The Ailey influence is in fact very strong, but when balanced well with other types of movement, it's a welcome addition to the fusion of Brazilian dance forms and other American modern dance influences (I think there may be some Graham in there as well). But the most breath-taking parts of the performances are the capoeira sequences and the acrobatic feats, as well as the incredible jumps. My favorite piece was A Jornada, which is akin to Ailey's "Revelations" in that it seems to be one of the company's successes and a cornerstone of the type of dance the company offers. It starts out slow and somber, and gradually picks up speed and includes some incredibly exciting sequences that were the audience's favorite out of the three pieces at the performance I saw at the Joyce. The audience was very diverse, especially for a contemporary dance performance, and the more traditional capoeira sequences were the ones that really had people on the edge of their seats.

 

To learn about DanceBrazil's upcoming performances, click here. See here for photos of the company, and click here to follow DanceBrazil on Facebook.

DanceBrazil - video 1 from DanceBrazil on Vimeo.

Marcelo Gomes, Estrela do Brasil

At any given time, you'll find Brazilian stars in New York, be it performers, actors, writers, singers, chefs, or composers. One of my favorite New York Brazilian stars is Marcelo Gomes, a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. I saw him perform Romeo and Juliet with Julie Kent this week, and he was wonderful, as usual.

Marcelo Gomes & Julie Kent (Swan Lake)

Just like Irlan Santos, the star of Only When I Dance, Marcelo started his dance career in Rio de Janeiro at the Teatro Municipal and made it big at the Prix de Lausanne. (Incidentally, Irlan, who is currently dancing with ABT II, was featured in a three page article in Playbill this week).

Marcelo has danced and trained all over the world, and has been with ABT since 1997. It made me wonder how living abroad and becoming a star has changed him, but this little interview I found makes it seem like he is a friendly, down to earth kind of guy. (I've made a couple of attempts to try to get in touch with him for an interview, with no success, so if anyone has an in, please let me know.)

After watching Marcelo dance, it's hard to repress the urge to yell, "Brasil-il-il-il," gol style. Check the ABT calendar to find out about Marcelo's upcoming performances in New York and LA this month.

New York Premiere: Only When I Dance

The wait is over! Though the documentary Only When I Dance premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, It's officially opening in New York tomorrow. The film follows two young dancers from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, and focuses on their quest to become professionals. Ever since I found out about the movie in October, I've been dying to see it and I am thrilled it is finally here. The film will be playing this week at Cinema Village, so if you're in the area, be sure to check it out! Also, you can get a discount coupon for screenings between July 2 and 4th over at BrazilNYC, where you can also find an interesting interview with the film's director.

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I've kept in touch with the Ballet de Santa Teresa, where I was a volunteer while I lived in Rio. They send me updates and keep former volunteers in the loop, which is nice to be able to see how things are going. But last night I received really bad news. 

The staff sent out a series of images to the listserv, and this was the first one:

See where the blue table is? There used to be a wall and a hill back there. Apparently, the wall completely fell apart and there was a landslide, bringing down so much debris that the school had to be closed.

Classes are temporarily being held at a local cultural center, but they're hoping to find a facility to move to until they figure out what will happen to the wrecked school. Since as usual, funds are extremely low, they are currently looking for help, so the kids still have somewhere to go.

If you know of a potential facility that the ballet could use (ideally in the vicinity of Santa Teresa or Centro), or advice about how they should proceed, please email balletdesantateresa at hotmail dot com. I'm sure they'd welcome donations, too. Now more than ever, they are in desperate need of help.

Only When I Dance

I'd seen a preview for this documentary awhile back and put it on my list of movies to see. Then, a reader sent me on the videos below that just came out, and I started doing some research. The film combines some of the things I'm most passionate about, and I was getting teary just watching clips.

Only When I Dance is a film about two teenage ballet dancers from the slums of Rio de Janeiro trying to make it in the professional dance world. Though part of the film takes place in favelas, the plot centers on the two dancers and their families, and the families' struggle to help their children pursue their dream. According to the website, the movie is being screened at various film festivals around the world, including my beloved Rio film festival. (I am so sad to miss it this year) The bad news is, there's no date set for a US release, since it appears it hasn't been picked up yet. Get on it, guys! I beg of you. This movie looks amazing!

Hope, from Rio to Miami

Naturally, I'd find out about this amazing school after moving back from Rio, but I'm glad that it's now at least on my radar. Thanks to Kacie for sending this to me!

UPDATE: The Miami Herald published a second story about the program today with a photo gallery of the kids here.

The Miami City Ballet has a scholarship program for children from the Escola de Dança Alice Arja, a professional dance school near Barra that trains a combination of paying students and favela kids. Alice Arja was trained in Brazil, the US, and Cuba, and has run the school since 1989, producing students who have gone on to join major companies in Brazil and Europe, and to study at professional schools around the world.

Ms. Arja sets aside half of the spots at the school for scholarship students, and has set up a partnership with the Miami City Ballet to send the most talented students to the US to take a summer intensive there. This year, 23 of her students were accepted into the program, a sizable fraction of the 215 total students in the entire summer intensive from all over the US and the world. One of the Brazilian students even won an apprenticeship with the Miami City Ballet, and will stay in the US to dance with them.

While the video feature from the Miami Herald drums away at how "needy" the children are (they live in cardboard boxes! without water! or electricity!), the bottom line is that this is an amazing and unique program that allows kids with no financial resources to have the opportunity of a lifetime to train in another country. [Check out the full story from the Miami Herald here, and watch the accompanying video below.]

The MH video wasn't spectacularly done, but what I really loved was finding videos of one of the Brazilian students dancing at the program this year (with hushed, awed commentary in Portuguese). See parts 2 & 3 of the piece here and here.

the worst place to be

After the past few weeks, I've decided my favorite place to people watch in Rio is the international arrivals gate at the airport, and the absolute worst is at the city's professional ballet school.

I've been volunteering at a ballet NGO since I moved here, and I've been training a group of kids since last March to audition for the state ballet school, one of the best in the country that feeds right into the city's ballet company. This week they're holding auditions, and one of my students asked me to go with her, since her mom couldn't go. So it began.