Lectures and Talks, HAU 3: April 16, 7 pm – 10 pm

Cultural Roots in Brazilian Dance:
Identification or Transgression?

Introduction:

Overview of the Activities of the Ministry for Identity and Cultural Diversity of the Government of Brazil
Sérgio Mamberti (Rio de Janeiro/Brasília) – Secretary of State for Identity and Cultural Diversity at the Ministry for the Culture of Brazil and one of Brazil’s most respected theater, film and television actors

presentation: Dr. Cláudio Cajaiba

How do Capoeira or the ritual indigenous dances of the Asuriní influence the dance of today? How can boundaries be drawn between the male and female sex in the vicinity of contemporary dance? - Introduction: Sérgio Mamberti, State Secretary in the Brazilian Ministry of Culture

Dance of the Brazils: The Asuriní Women of Xingu:

Dr. Regina Müller (Campinas) - Anthropologist, postgraduate degree from the Department of Performance Studies /New York University, doctorate in anthropology at the USP, lecturer at UNICAMP. Author of the book »Os Asuriní do Xingu: história e arte« (The History and Art of the Asuriní of Xingu).

The video “As mulheres das cócoras” (Women in Squatting Positions), by Graziela Rodrigues and Regina P. Müller, which I will present as the starting point of my talk, portrays a physical universe embodying the contrasting experiences of the past and present of the Asuriní of Xingu. The Asuriní are an indigenous group, who first came into contact with the white population in 1971. In contrast to formalized models, this research project tries to directly translate creation in dance by using the same physical means that the actor uses in confrontation with the other. In this particular case, the contact of the Asuriní of Xingu, an Indian society in the midst of change, with the whites generated ambivalent experiences of identification and alienation: the body in a temporality-spatiality of origin that in its moment of transition, formed by the image of the white man, ties itself completely to the earth.

»Today I Will Change«: Transformism and Choreo-ethnografic Display in Salvador:

Dr. Fernando Passos (Salvador) – doctorate in Performance Studies and Scenic Arts at the New York University and the UFBA. MA in Dance from the Tisch School of the Arts. From 2000-2002 guest professor at the Florida International University. Professor at the Department for Choreographic Theory and Design at the Escola de Dança and the Postgraduate Program Scenic Arts at the UFBA. Main fields of research: Performance Studies, Queer Theory and Postcolonial Studies.

The present talk examines the presence of men, who dress as women in public spaces in Salvador: transvestitism as a method to deconstruct gender polarities. The ethnographic essay includes thoughts on auto-ethnography and evolution to dissolve the so-called marginal scenic displays and reassess the scenic arts in Brazil in a re-evaluation of perspectives and themes. As a phenomenon, the personification of the feminine is featured for example in the contemporary dance piece “A mulher Gorila” (The Gorilla Woman) by the Salvador group Dimenti and strengthens the transgressive sexual reconfiguration that is putting some traditional choreographic forms in Brazil in question.

Capoeira in Scenic Composition:

Dr. Eusébio Lobo (Capoeira-Mestre Pavão) (Campinas) – dancer, scholar and lecturer at the Unicamp Art Institute. From 1977 to 1980 lecturer at the Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, Illinois, USA. Master of Katherine Dunham Technique. Research focus: Usage of Capoeira in the Training of Dancers and Actors.

It is currently assumed that elements of Capoeira, an original expression of Brazilian culture, have fused with basic elements of dance. Both styles are of special interest to anyone studying the use of the body in scenic composition. The study of Capoeira syntax in relation to the recognition and sensitization of movement is the central aspect of this lecture. The space of the body, the body in space and its surroundings are the thematic focuses of this study.