Encantado

The word 'encantado,' from the Latin ‘incantatus,’ refers to something that is or has been the object of an enchantment or a magical spell. ‘Encantado' is also synonymous with wonder, dazzlement or fascination. In Brazil, the word 'encantado' has other meanings. The term refers to entities that belong to the Afro-American ways of perceiving the world. The 'encantados,' animated by unknown forces, move between heaven and earth, in jungles, on rocks, in fresh and salt water, in dunes, in plants, transforming them into sacred places. They are beings that cross time and transmute into different expressions of nature. They have not known death, but have passed to another level, acquiring magical powers of protection and healing. The predatory actions that threaten life on Earth, the systematic destruction of forests, rivers and the sea also impact the existence of the 'encantados.' There is no way to separate the encantado from nature or the nature of these beings.

Encantado is the title of the new creation of Lia Rodrigues Companhia de Danças that begins in the context of the health crisis caused by Covid-19. The choice of this title was born from the desire to use magic and incantation to guide our creative process that takes place in this dramatic moment we are going through in Brazil.

How to enchant our fears and put us in the collective, close to each other? How can we enchant our ideas and our bodies, transforming them into images, dances and landscapes? To make a new creation, we must enter into the enchantment and engage in various compositions to meet all kinds of living beings. We must create agglomerations and assemblages of bacteria, cashew nuts, flowers, protozoa, rivers, animals immersed in fresh water, algae, millipedes, frogs, snakes, porpoises, bees, grasshoppers, mushrooms, lakes, underwater spaces, skies, sun, wind, forest trees and plants grown in the garden, viruses, nights, the moon, the stars, the earth, the air and the water—movements that, like entities, travel from body to body. And people ... people who are enchanted and disenchanted in an endless dance.

LIA RODRIGUES (Artistic Director and Choreographer)

Born in 1956 in São Paulo, Lia Rodrigues studied classical ballet and history at São Paulo University, became involved in the contemporary dance movement in the 1970s, and performed in the Maguy Marin dance Company in France from 1980 to 1982. 

When she returned to Brazil, she created the Lia Rodrigues Companhia de Danças in 1990 in Rio de Janeiro with year-round programming of dance laboratories, new work, classes, and rehearsals. In 1992, she created the Panorama Festival, the most important festival in Rio de Janeiro, and ran it for 14 years.

Since 2004, Rodrigues’ company has been involved in developing educational and artistic activities in the Maré favela in Rio de Janeiro, in partnership with the non-governmental organization Redes de Desenvolvimento da Maré. From this collaboration came the Centro de Artes da Maré (Arts Center of Maré) in 2009, as well as the Escola livre de Danças da Maré (Free School of Maré) in 2011. During 40 years of professional and artistic life, Rodrigues has dedicated herself not only to training and artistic creation through commissions and international touring, but also to education, offering workshops and seminars across the globe. Mixing art and advocacy, she believes in the synergy between artistic and social processes. 

Rodrigues was awarded the medal of Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and the SACD Prize for Choreography (2016) by the French government, as well the Prince Claus Award (2014) in the Netherlands. 

In France, she created one of the La Fontaine fables in 2005 and Hymnen for the CCN Ballet de Lorraine in 2007 with music by Stockhausen. Her recent repertoire includes Such Stuff as we are made (2000), Formas Breves (2002), Incarnat (2005), Chantiers Poétiques (2008), Pororoca (2009), Piracema (2011), Pindorama (2013) and Para que o Céu não caia (For the Sky not to fall) (2016), Fúria (2018), and Encantado (2021).

Ricardo Xavier (Dancer) 

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Ricardo Xavier is a tireless admirer of dance and has danced and studied dance techniques in several countries, including Mexico, Switzerland, and France. He danced in the Ballet Brasil da Ilha do Bom Jesus of the Brazilian army and in the Escola Livre de Dança da Tide, where he worked with several renowned choreographers such as Maguy Marin, Emmanuelle Huynh, and João Fiadeiro. He studied at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, graduating with a degree in dance. He currently works with Lia Rodrigues Dance Company and is the coordinator responsible for a new project in arts at a public school in the Maré favela. 

Leonardo Nunes Fonseca (Dancer) 

Born in Pernambuco, Brazil, Leonardo Nunes Fonseca graduated with a degree in dance from the University of the City of Rio de Janeiro. He started his dance practice with the choreographer Paulista Ivaldo Bertazzo, participating in the works Mãe Gentil, Folias Guanabara, Danças das Marés. From 2002 to 2004, he worked as an intern at Deanima Companhia de Danca, participating in the company’s projects. He was part of the young group of the Maria Olenewa Dance School. Since 2005, he has worked at Lia Rodrigues Dance Company, participating in the creations of Encarnado, Hymnen, Chantier Poetique, Pororoca, Piracema, Pindorama, Para Que o Céu Não Caia, Fúria, and Encantado.

Andrey Silva (Dancer)

Andrey Silva was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was an actor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, where he graduated with a degree in dance. He also studied at Escola Livre de Dança da Tide, where he worked with the choreographer Maguy Marin, dancing in her work May B. Silva is currently a dancer in the Lia Rodrigues Dance Company. 

Larissa Lima (Dancer)

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Larissa Lima danced at Escola Livre de Dança da Maré, where she worked with several renowned choreographers including Maguy Marin, performing in her work May B. She is studying for a Bachelor of Dance at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and currently performs with the Lia Rodrigues Dance Company.

Carolina Repetto (Dancer) 

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1994, Carolina Repetto is a graduate of the Angel Vianna Escola and Faculdade de Dança (2012/2015), where she studied contemporary dance. She works as an actress, performer, and contemporary dancer. She collaborated as a dancer in the performance What is really happening when something happens? by Cristian Duarte, at the Verbo 2017 show in São Paulo. She has also performed with Marcelo Evelin in his work Batucada, which was part of the Festival Panorama in 2016. Carolina founded the theatrical research group Mulheres de Buço, along with seven other young actresses. Since 2014, the group has been carrying out artistic projects that embrace theater and music. In 2016, they premiered their first play Mulheres de Buço, a show-play, which ran for three months at the O Tablado/RJ theater.  She currently collaborates with choreographer Lia Rodrigues at Centro de Artes da Maré/RJ, where she participated in the creation of the work Fúria, which premiered at the Theater Nacional de la danse Chaillot in November 2018. She has also performed in the works Pindorama and Para que o Céu não caia since 2017.

Valentina Prestes Fittipaldi (Dancer)

Valentina Prestes Fittipaldi was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and holds a bachelor's degree in dance from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. At the age of 15, she began her studies at the Angel Vianna School and College, where she studied the techniques of Klauss Vianna and Laban, as well as many somatic pedagogies. In 2016, she completed the fourth edition of the Modern Dance Award, which gave her the opportunity to spend one month studying at the Martha Graham Dance School in New York. Since June 2017 she has been working with Lia Rodrigues Dance Company.

Tiago Oliveira da Silva (Dancer) 

Tiago Oliveira da Silva participated in the show O Fauno (2018), directed by Gustavo Gelmini, for which he was awarded the prize for best dancer at the I Prêmio Cesgranrio de Dança (2019). As performer/choreographer, he mounted the solo show Vira-Lata, which premiered in 2017 at the Reneé Gumiel room / FUNARTE-SP. He has participated in the Virada Cultura of São Paulo (2018), in the occupation of the Teatro Glaucio Gill together with the Paradigma project (2018), and in the MOVA-Se Festival in Manaus (2019). In 2019, da Silva  was invited by Sesc Rio to mount a work in the Sesc Project Entredanças and created the show À MARGEM, which was staged in the unit of Copacabana. He has also participated in the Festival MOVA-Se and the Festival Dança in Trânsito, and is competing for the Cesgranrio Dance Award for best piece. In 2020, da Silva created a dance video for the project Arte em Cena of Sesc Rio called A Stranger in Me, available on YouTube and shown in the Noble International Film Festival and Awards (2021). In 2021, he choreographed the piece Vidas Secas for Cenarte Cia de Dança, for which he received an award from the State Secretariat of Culture and Culture and Creative Economy of Rio de Janeiro.

Raquel Alexandre David Silva (Dancer) 

Raquel Alexandre David Silva was born in Brazil and began her dancing in 2010 at the Centro de Artes da Maré, in the Nova Holanda favela. She graduated from the Intensive and Continuous Course in Contemporary Dance (Núcle 2), a project conducted by the Escola Livre de Dança da Maré in partnership with Lia Rodrigues Dance Company (2012—18). She holds a Bachelor of Dance from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and is a performer with the Lia Rodrigues Dance Company.

David Abreu Leandro (Dancer) 

David Abreu Leandro was born in Cachoeiras de Macacu and lives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is a graduate of the dance program at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, where he participated in research projects, including the project Corpo Estranho, coordinated by Professor Aline Teixeira. He has taught contemporary dance and body preparation classes at various events, projects, and shows in cities including Santa Maria, São Mateus, and Viçosa. Leandro has participated in workshops, residencies, and workshops with Grupo Cena 11 Cia de Dança, GaGa Dancers and People, Angel Vianna, Denise Stutz, and Focus Cia de Dança, among others. In 2016, he participated in the 20th Internationales Solo Tanz-Theater Festival Stuttgart in Germany with the solo piece Escuda, which he directed and choreographed. He assumed the interpretation of the solo and premiered it in an extended version in 2017 at Teatro Angel Vianna. Currently, he is part of Lia Rodrigues Dance Company.

Felipe Vian (Dancer)

Felipe Vian began his studies in contemporary dance in 2003 in the artistic training project Núcleo de Dança de Votorantim, São Paulo, where he worked with several artists from Brazil and abroad. In 2009, he became a professional dancer certified by São Paulo Dance Union. In 2011, he was part of the Arsenale Della Danza Group, directed by Brazilian choreographer Ismael Ivo, in Venice, Italy. In 2013, Vian joined the Lia Rodrigues Dance Company in Rio de Janeiro. He worked alongside the choreographer for eight years as a dancer, creator, and teacher. With the company, he created the pieces Pindorama (2013), Para Que O Céu Não Caia (2016) and Fúria (2018), in addition to performing in many other pieces in countries such as Greece, Australia, Netherlands, Israel, Switzerland and Denmark. He has also taught contemporary dance classes in Norway, Italy, Austria, Portugal, Germany and France. Vian was one of the artists invited to teach contemporary dance classes at Núcleo 2, a group of students awarded with scholarships from the Centro de Artes da Maré in Rio de Janeiro.

Dandara Patroclo Santos (Dancer)

Dandara Patroclo Santos is a Black woman from Rio de Janeiro. She is a dance artist and a graduate of the dance technique training program of the Centro de Dança Rio school (2008—2012). She studied dance at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She works as a communication and social media manager for the blocos and performs in the pieces Contre ceux qui ont le gout difficile and Encantado of the Lia Rodrigues Dance Company. Santos was the Movement Director for the music video Purpurina for Bloco Amigos da Onça and Assistant Choreographer for Farm's "Voa" campaign, directed by Carlos Mach and choreographed by Laura de Castro. She also collaborated on the video "Caravana" by Som em Vento and performed in the show Dançar (não) é preciso by Esther Weitzman dance company from 2013—2017.

Gabi Gonçalves (Company Manager) 

Gabi Gonçalves is a PhD student in Communication and Semiotics from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC - SP). She received a Master in Communication and Semiotics from PUC - SP under Dr. Christine Greiner, with research on the public training for contemporary art. Gabi studied in the Body Arts program at Unicamp in 1998 and in the Communication and Body Arts program at Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo in 2002. She was coordinator of production of São Paulo Virada Cultural in 2009 and 2010, taught courses in cultural production in Senac, and gave lectures in partnership with the Image and Sound Museum. Gonçalves was also a cultural producer at SESC SP (Vila Mariana), and worked on Femsa Award nominated productions in 2012 and 2015. She was also the coordinator of production for the International Exhibition of Theatre (2014—15). 

In 2008, Gonçalves finished her master's thesis Strategies to Give Visibility to the Dance, which has now been published as a book. Her aim was specifically to analyze strategies and to make visible dance in situations where the official media (print, television and digital), as so-called public policies, seemed to do everything to ensure its invisibility. More than ever, the debate continues today, echoing the struggle of artists and producers to gain time and attention.

Thérèse Barbanel (US Representative) 

After studying English at the University Paris VIII, Thérèse Barbanel joined the production office Artservice International in 1979 and started a close collaboration with quite a few major artists in modern dance, contemporary theater, and music, such as Merce Cunningham, John Cage, Phillip Glass, Trisha Brown, Lucinda Childs, Meredith Monk, Dominique Bagouet, Systeme Castafiore, and others.

In 1999, Barbanel opened her own office, les Artscéniques. She participated in the start of a new national choreographer Center in Nancy with the Ballet de Lorraine and began working with Lia Rodrigues in 2004, starting a long term relationship that still continues. Paul André Fortier from Montreal, part of the collective of artists Circuit Est, has also been a close partner for many years. As a representative of artists worldwide, Barbanel’s work includes booking, art administration, logistics, and marketing. 

Nicolas Boudier (Light design and technical director) 

Nicolas Boudier has been working for theater and dance since 1994 as a designer of hybrid forms including dramaturgy. After studying electricity, he began training in automated mechanical systems and then tackled robotics. In 1992 he left the business world to turn to performing arts. He is a state graduate, free candidate at Rue Blanche, ENSATT, National School of Theater Arts and Techniques in Paris, and GRIM, School of Theater and Events in Lyon as a lighting designer. At the same time, he presented his first photographic exhibitions. He has worked as a light designer, scenographer, and photographer in collaboration with various artists including Lia Rodrigues, Joris Mathieu, David Wampach, Pina Bausch, Ushio Amagatsu, Yuval Pick, Stephane Ricordel, Astrid Toledo, Shantala Shivalingappa, and the Nordik Black Theater. In parallel with his activity as a freelance creator, Boudier currently works alongside Joris Mathieu at the Théâtre Nouvelle Génération, Lyon’s national drama center, as a director, designer of scenographic devices, creator of lights, and photographer of productions. Recently he presented his new creation, At the Origin was Speed, the Testament of Sov Strochnis, an immersive device for 44 spectators. He has worked with Lia Rodrigues since 2004.

Magali Foubert (Stage Manager) 

After earning a degree in the fine arts in Clermont Ferrand, France, in 2000, Magali Foubert decided to move on to jobs in the arts fields and performing arts, specializing in lighting. She worked for different companies for 22 years in fields such as theater, circus, street arts, and dance. Companies include: Cie Les transformateurs, Cie Les Trois Huit, Cie Dyptik, Cie Entre Chien et Loup, Cie Cassandre. She is also the Assistant Lighting Designer to Nicolas Boudier, Patrice Besombes, and Yoann Tivoli. She has been Lia Rodrigues’s stage manager and lighting supervisor for 11 years and has toured with the company worldwide.