The Mercat de les Flors opens a new constellation, which until May 7 will project the universe of the Brazilian choreographer and creator Lia Rodrigues through her two most outstanding works, Furia and Encantado, which from contemporary dance will offer a vision of a conditioned Brazil by the extreme right, Bolsonaro’s coup and the consequences of the pandemic crisis.
This approach to the most intimate world of the artist – who in her youth was part of the Maguy Marin company in Paris – will be complemented with creations by other Brazilian choreographers who are within Rodriges’ orbit: Volmir Cordeiro (April 22 and 23 ), Alice Ripoll (from May 5 to 7) and Anna Pi (from April 27 to 29).
During her 40-year artistic career, Lia Rodrigues has had a great commitment to art and her country, in addition to developing great work within the favelas, the most disadvantaged stratum of Brazilian society. Her new work, Encantado, was born from the tragedy that the pandemic brought to society in her country. “Of the more than 50,000 infected, 70,000 died from the covid, and above all due to the inefficiency of the government,” Rodrigues reflects in her appearance before the media.
His artistic center in Rio de Janeiro, Companhia de Danças, then became a food distribution center to provide coverage for the most disadvantaged families. “On the stage there were more than a hundred people working and distributing food. How nice that an art space can be transformed to help society!” She recalls.
Encantado reflects the desire to use magic and spells as guides in the creative process that takes place in tragic moments in the country. But it also means prodigy, fascination or dazzle before the desire for life. “I really think Encantado is a celebration,” Rodrigues confesses.
For its part, “Fury was created in 2018, at a terrible and frightening moment for Brazil,” recalls Rodrigues: “The extreme right rebelled with a coup that changed the lives of all Brazilians.” It is a living painting, a stark vision of this Brazil marked by inequalities, racism and violence. It addresses issues of domination through bodies dragging each other down, bodies screaming their pain, becoming electrified, exploding with anger. Furia is not just a piece that enhances rage, he points out. “There are various exceptions, including getting ahead.”
This piece is based on the premise of creating “from remains, from residues, things that were not important at first,” explains the creator. Pieces of plastic, wood or clothing complete the scenery that gives rise to a show of references to Brazil and all its diversity.
The Lia Rodrigues Brasil Next Constellation will be complemented with productions by artists who have been a benchmark for the choreographer and who shape her universe and career: Alice Ripoll and her piece Lavagem, Ana Pi with her dance performance inspired by the movie Divine Horsemen, and Metropolis, the solo by Vladimir Cordeiro.
In parallel, a variety of activities will take place at the hands of Brazilian artists, including a lecture by Silvia Soter, a postgraduate professor in Dance at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, who also works as a playwright at the Lia Rodrigues Company. of Daças.
Lia Rodrigues has dedicated a large part of her professional career to working on the poorest and most disadvantaged side of Brazil. “The favela has changed my trajectory a lot,” she says. To think of a favela is to think of violence, but it hides a talent from very different professions, Rodrigues remarks, with the only difference that the State does not take care that they have a life as dignified as rich people. “I am a white, upper-class woman, which has allowed me to dedicate myself to art in my country. My work has consisted of talking about inequalities and fighting to see what actions can be done from consciousness and from a place of privilege” .
