The Wait Is Over, And It Was Worth It São Paulo Dance Company

It has been a long wait to see the São Paulo Dance Company; the tour originally planned for 2020 was delayed until 2024 due to the pandemic, but now Bradford Alhambra finally has the chance to welcome the company on their first UK and Irish tour. How lucky we are that Bradford Alhambra is one of the 19 UK and Irish theatres that make up the Dance Consortium. Founded in 2000, they work together to identify the best in contemporary dance from across the world. Having arranged more than 50 tours featuring 27 companies, they offer us the opportunity to share in dance from across the world.

The So Paulo Dance Company, which the government of Sao Paulo founded 16 years ago, is at the forefront of the South American contemporary dance scene. Company director Inês Bogéa toured Britain in 1994 as a dancer with Grupo Corpo and remembers it as an intense time, full of art and the exchange of experiences. 30 years later, she says she is thrilled to be back, with the company performing in so many wonderful theatres. With 14 sleek, sexy, and technically brilliant virtuoso dancers, the company delighted us with a rich programme of three boldly contemporary works deeply rooted in Latin American and Spanish cultures.

Opening with Anthem, created by Goyo Montero, is an emotional piece reflecting on life cycles and inspired by songs that become hymns or anthems for individuals, groups, generations, or a nation. Owen Belton provides the score that is both unifying and uplifting. The soundtrack begins with almost hypnotic breathing as the company moves in perfect synchronicity, working together as one body like a moving painting, with the flutter of a heartbeat and the rise and fall of the chest in time with the breaths. Moving into solos and duets, they begin to drift apart, fighting amongst themselves until we are left with one person, but in that one person, there is hope of renewal.

Nacho Duato, the Mikhailovsky Ballet's artistic director, created the second piece, Gnawa, in 2005. It draws on the Mediterranean colours and flavours of his hometown, Valencia. The use of natural sounds and mesmerising ritualistic music of North African origin written by seven different composers. We are introduced to the work by the gentle sound of water lapping, which takes us to what could be a seashore or marshland with muted bird and animal calls. This work is inspired by a mystical Islamic fellowship of Gnawa people who were brought to North Africa by the Berber as slaves. A highlight of the evening for me here was the duet, which fused incredible strength with graceful fluidity and delicacy.

Agora provided a colourful, flirtatious, and exhilarating finale, choreographed by Cassi Abranches especially for the company. It explores tempo and rhythm, sculpting each dancer’s body to an Afro-Brazilian score full of percussive beats, bass grooves, and rock music vocals. A high-octane, powerfully energetic, and breathtaking finale to the evening with the dancers darting around the stage, at times backwards, and amazing leaps showing the trust and faith between the dancers. Yet it is also a piece where the smallest movement of the head or flick of the fingers makes an enormous impact.

Three different pieces, each with its own individual style and set of techniques, culminated on the opening night in a Q&A session with the company director, Inês Bogéa, who thanked Dance Consortium and everyone who made this tour possible by allowing them to display their art. The performance was full of energy with breathtaking athleticism, passion, and controlled strength. With the dancers working together to provide an uplifting, intense, and enjoyable channel of communication that transcends any language barrier, There is a final chance to catch the performance in Bradford on March 9 before it moves on to other theatres in the UK; don’t miss it.


Bradford Alhambra catch last performance tonight