Brazilian Brilliance at Red Cat

REDCAT Presents Acclaimed Brazilian Dance Phenomenon Companhia Urbana de Dança:

Performing their Signature Hip Hop Inspired Works ID: Entidades & Na Pista 

 “So wonderful that it seems miraculous…promised a blend of hip-hop, urban and contemporary dance and knocked the ball out of the park.” 

—The New York Times

“Forget the pedigree. For raw, edge-of-your-seat tension, this is the one to beat.”

 —San Francisco Chronicle

“Tour de force of hip-hop dance-theatre.” —Financial Times

REDCAT, CalArts’ downtown center for contemporary arts, presents the audacious, vigorous, and highly inventive Brazilian dance ensemble Companhia Urbana de Dança, Wednesday March 23 and Thursday March 24, 2016 at 8:30 pm.

Renowned for burning up the stage in an irresistible explosion of breakneck bravado, exuberant, high-speed energy, and powerhouse athleticism, the renowned company founded by choreographer Sonia Destri Lie reinvents the thrilling kinetics of street dance, seamlessly fusing together hip-hop, samba, capoeira, and contemporary forms.

Their signature work ID: Entidades, inspired by the life stories of the company dancers, pulses with raw adrenaline to a high-voltage score by Brazilian composer Rodrigo Marçal. They also explore the joyful influence of pop culture and sizzling social dance in the critically-praised Na Pista, which prompted The New York Times to write that the company “is so wonderful that it seems miraculous.”

With her company Sonia Destri has won the Best Choreography Prize from the UNESCO Conseil International de la Danse; the Staging Award (2011) from the State of Rio de Janeiro and the FADA Award from the City Hall of Rio de Janeiro (2012 and 2013).

After completing her degree in ballet and psychology in her homewotnw of Rio de Janiero, Destri Lie traveled between Brazil and Germany working in theater, dance, and film while studying with renowned choreographers Pina Bausch, Alwin Nikolais and Twyla Tharp. She returned to Germany again in the 1990s to teach contemporary dance and Brazilian jazz at Bausch’s Tanztheater in Wuppertal and at Tanz Hause in Dusseldorf. While there she became increasingly interested in street dance styles like b-boying and hip hop, both in Germany and Brazil, and was inspired to create work that melds those styles with her background in contemporary dance.

In 2005 she founded Companhia Urbana de Dança with eight immensely talented young dancers (seven men and one woman) from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. This young, bold company has invented a new choreographic language with its own specialized vocabulary, recognizes Brazilian cultural roots in a dialogue with the contemporary trends in dance, as well as cultural pride.

Since its creation, the Company has performed often throughout Brazil’s theaters and festivals including Panorama de Dança and Plataforma de Dança, as well abroad, including at Biennales de la Danse de Lyon, France (2006, 2008); Festival de Biarritz, France (2008); Festival Hoptimum, Hangar23 in Rouen, France (2010); Suresnes cités danse, Paris (2011); Fall For Dance, New York City Center (2010); Peak Performances, Alexander Kasser Theatre at Montclair University, N.J. (2011); Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Beckett, Mass. (2013); Festival de Riccione, Italy (2012); and Teatro Lido, Medellin, Colombia (2009).

REDCAT, CalArts’ downtown center for contemporary arts, presents a dynamic and international mix of innovative visual, performing and media arts year round. Located inside the iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall complex in downtown Los Angeles, REDCAT houses a theater, a gallery space and a lounge. Through performances, exhibitions, screenings, and literary events, REDCAT introduces diverse audiences, students and artists to the most influential developments in the arts from around the world, and gives artists in this region the creative support they need to achieve national and international stature. REDCAT continues the tradition of the California Institute of the Arts, its parent organization, by encouraging experimentation, discovery and lively civic discourse.

GENERAL INFORMATION
For current program and exhibition information call 213-237-2800 or visit www.redcat.org.

Location/Parking: REDCAT is located in downtown Los Angeles inside the Walt Disney Concert Hall complex with a separate entrance at the corner of West 2nd and Hope Streets. Parking is available in the Walt Disney Concert Hall parking structure. $9 event rate or $5 for vehicles entering after 8:00 pm on weekdays.

Street Address: 631 West 2nd Street, Los Angeles CA 90012 – www.redcat.org