Preview: São Paulo Dance Company at Newcastle Theatre Royal

 

Newcastle Theatre Royal to host São Paulo Dance Company on their first ever UK tour

São Paulo Dance Company

Newcastle Theatre Royal

Tuesday 5 – Wednesday 6 March 2024

 

Audience favourite Dance Consortium returns to Newcastle Theatre Royal to present São Paulo Dance, as part of their premiere UK tour.

São Paulo Dance Company is at the forefront of the South American contemporary dance scene and during their visit to the UK next spring, the company will showcase the work of three choreographers whose inspiration is deeply rooted in Latin American and Spanish Culture.

The first of the three works performed will be the epic and emotionally charged Anthem. Created in 2019, the piece reflects on life cycles and collective identities, inspired by songs that become hymns - anthems - for an individual, a group, a generation or a nation. Owen Belton, a frequent collaborator with choreographer Goyo Montero, provides a unifying and uplifting sound-score. 

The sensually harmonious Gnawa will be the second piece performed. Created by (now artistic director of the Mikhailovsky Ballet), Nacho Duato in 2005 and restaged on São Paulo Dance Company in 2009, the piece draws on the Mediterranean colours and flavours of Valencia. Gnawa is powered by the hypnotic, ritualistic music of North Africa created by seven composers - Hassan Hakmoun, Adam Rudolph, Juan Alberto Arteche, Javier Paxariño, Rabih Abou-Khalil, Velez and Kusur e Sarkissian.

Brazilian choreographer Cassi Abranches’ colourful and flirtatious Agora provides an exhilarating finale. Created in 2019, by exploring time and rhythm, Abranches sculpts the movement of each dancer’s body to the percussive beats and bass grooves of Sebastian Piracés’ score, mixing drums and Afro-Brazilian percussion with rock music and vocals.

The company produces artistic performances that encompass works from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, including both classical and modern masterpieces, as well as contemporary pieces, specially created by nationally and internationally recognised choreographers.

São Paulo Dance Company director Inês Bogéa says: “In 1994, I had the pleasure to tour British theatres as a dancer with Grupo Corpo. It was a very intense time, full of art and exchange of experiences.  30 years later, as São Paulo Dance Company’s artistic director, I am thrilled to be back, with the company performing in wonderful theatres around the UK and in Ireland. I thank Dance Consortium and everyone who is making this tour possible. We hope our art opens an expressive, intense, and enjoyable channel of communication with the audiences that await us”.

Dance Consortium, a group of 19 large-scale theatres with a mission to bring the best international dance to stages across the UK and Ireland, has become an audience favourite at Newcastle Theatre Royal, with memorable past productions including Dada Masilo’s The Sacrifice, Nederlands Dans Theater 2, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo and most recently Ailey 2.

 

Photos: Charles Lima

 

Tickets:

São Paulo Dance Company visits Newcastle Theatre Royal Tuesday 5 – Wednesday 6 March 2024. Tickets can be purchased at www.theatreroyal.co.uk or from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 0191 232 7010.