Danse Danse presents

São Paulo Companhia de Dança
The Seasons + Mamihlapinatapai + Gnawa

For its first visit to Canada, the remarkable young troupe São Paulo Dance Company will be presenting three works including The Seasons, by the Montreal choreographer Édouard Lock. It was named dance performance of the year for 2014 by the major Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo.

The Seasons, Édouard Lock (2014, SPCD)
The celebrated founder of La La La Human Steps has revisited Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons in collaboration with the composer Gavin Bryers. In 12 parts evoking the 12 months of the year, he submits 12 dancers to the dizzying speed and extreme precision of his vivacious, angular and undulating movement. Bathing the stage in chiaroscuro lighting, he sculpts the light to create stunning fast motion effects and to reinforce the impact of sudden moments of slow motion. A pure delight heightened by the set design by Armand Vaillancourt.

Mamihlapinatapai, Jomar Mesquita with the collaboration of Rodrigo de Castro (2012, SPCD)
Mamihlapinatapai, a word from the Yaghan language of South America, is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the “most succinct word” and refers to an expressive and meaningful silence, “a look shared by two people, each wishing that the other will offer something they both desire but are unwilling to suggest or offer themselves.” That is precisely the theme of this piece by Brazilian choreographer Jomar Mesquita, director of the Mimulus Dance Company, in a work that evokes the desire for love among 4 couples in a lascivious deconstruction of the social dances of his native country.

Gnawa, Nacho Duato (2005, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago; 2009, restage SPCD)
A major figure of contemporary European ballet, Nacho Duato is famous for his fluid dances and his interest in great existential questions. He and his 14 dancers take the audience beyond the edge of the Mediterranean to encounter the descendants of the Gnawa people and their spiritual practices. Skillfully using the four elements to illustrate the superior forces of the universe, he has created an elegant, sensual and harmonious work performed in a North African atmosphere and set to hypnotic music.

São Paulo Dance Company
Since its founding in 2008 by the São Paulo state government, SPDC has been under the masterful direction of the dancer, writer and director Inês Bogéa. In less than a decade, she has produced some 40 dance pieces, half of them original works. The company has performed on the stages of 60 cities in 8 countries in South America, Asia and Europe. The diversity of its repertoire, plus the virtuosity and versatility of the dancers, have led to its astounding success.

Lenght: 2 H

Post-performance talk with the artists: Friday April 29, 2016

For more information and tickets: www.placedesarts.com 514-842-2112 or 1-866-842-2112

For more details:  www.dansedanse.ca/en