Ongoing Thought
With the director Lia Rodrigues. Mediation by Christine Greiner (PUC-SP)
March 20th, from 10am to 11am | Venue: Itaú Cultural
Crossing Dialogues
With Davi Kopenawa
March 18th after the performance | Venue: Sesc Belenzinho
Synopsis
The myth of the end of the world, told by Yanomami shaman Davi Kopenawa, says that when breaking the harmony of life in the universe, heaven – in the Yanomami language understood by “what lies above us” – shall fall on all of those below the sky and not just on the forest people. In the face of so many catastrophes and barbarities that haunt and make us speechless every day, in this context of drastic climate changes darkening the future, what is left for us to do? How to imagine ways to continue and act? What can each of us do to keep the sky above us? The dancers of Lia Rodrigues Dance Company dance in the Tide, in the rhythm of machines and cars, helicopters, sirens, under a scorching heat, with rain and storm, offering their dance as a tribute, not to disappear, to last and to rot, to move the air and to expand, to dream and to visit dark places, to turn in to fireflies, to be weak and to resist. They dance to find a way to survive in this upside down world. Dance to hold the sky. For the sky not to fall… they dance.
History
Lia Rodrigues was born in 1956 in São Paulo, where she graduated in classical ballet and studied History at the University of São Paulo. After participating in the contemporary dance movement of 1970’s in São Paulo, she joined CompagnieMaguy Marin (France) between 1980 and 1982. Back in Brazil, she founded, in 1990, the Lia Rodrigues Dance Company in Rio de Janeiro and, ever since, the Company remains active throughout the year, with classes, repertory rehearsals, research and creation of new work, performing in Brazil and abroad. In 2003, Lia Rodrigues Dance Company was invited by Silvia Soter to collaborate with the Maré Networks Development in Morro do Timbau, to where she has transferred her daily activities, helping to build and ensure the maintenance of a dancing suitable place, as well as offering classes and workshops for young people of the community and donating a large collection of dance videos and books. In 2007, in partnership with Maré Networks, she has started a new project at Nova Holanda community: the creation of the Maré Arts Center (CAM), a place for sharing, coexistence and exchange of knowledge, aimed at training, creation, diffusion and production of the arts. CAM, besides being the headquarters of Lia Rodrigues Dance Company, houses, among other initiatives, the Free Dance School of Maré. In addition to the shows, the Company organizes and offers lectures, debates and workshops for beginners and dance professionals alike.
Credits
Creation and direction: Lia Rodrigues
Choreographic Assistant: Amalia Lima
Danced and created in close collaboration by: Amalia Lima, Leonardo Nunes, Gabriele Nascimento, Francisco Thiago Cavalcanti, Clara Cavalcante, Felipe Vian, Glaciel Farias, Luana Bezerra, Carolina Repetto, Maruan Sipert, Valentina Fittipaldi
Dramaturgy: Silvia Soter
Artistic Collaboration and images: Sammi Landweer
Lighting: Nicolas Boudier
Production / Project Consulting: Claudia Oliveira
Visual Programming: Monica Soffiati
Secretary: Gloria Laureano
Teachers: Amalia Lima and Sylvia Alcantara
Students / trainees: Juliana Gonçalves and João Rios
International production and distribution: Thérèse Barbanel / Les Artscéniques
HELLERAU-European Center for the Arts Dresden / Germany
Co-production: Festival d’Automne à Paris / France; Centquatre, Paris / France; HELLERAU Europäisches Zentrum der Künste Dresden / Germany; Kampnagel, Hamburg / Germany; HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin / Germany; Künstlerhaus Mousonturm Frankfurt am Main / Germany; tanzhaus nrw, Düsseldorf / Germany; Federal Cultural Foundation of Germany; Montpellier danse Festival / France, SESC-SP
Sponsorship: City Hall of Rio de Janeiro / Municipal Secretary of Culture and Globe (ISS project)
In partnership with the Center of Arts of the Tide and Networks of the Tide
A production of: Lia Rodrigues Dance Company
For the Sky Not To Fall was conceived at the Maré Arts Center, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between 2015 and 2016.
Maré Arts Center, a project by Lia Rodrigues Dance Company and Maré Networks
Thanks to Layla Bucaretchi and to the Maré Free Dance School continuous formation Nucleus 2: Andrey da Silva Pereira, Daniele Pereira Rodrigues, Diego Farias Alvas da Cruz, Felipe da Costa Santos, Gustavo Glauber dos Santos Vieira, Ingrid de Castro Santos, Jeniffer Rodrigues da Silva, Juliana Gonçalves, Karolline da Silva Pinto, Luciana Barros Ferreira, Luyd de Souza Carvalho, Marllon Araujo, Raquel Alexandre David da Silva, Ricardo Xavier, Sidney Rafael Galdino dos Santos.
