Performance

I would like to say thank you very very much for this year!! I REALLY enjoyed you as a tutor!! Thank you for your time, suggestions, constructive criticism and praise as well! and for being so engaging throughout the course!! I feel i have learn`t so much and my view and understanding of what makes our world tick has been immensely broadened! I`ve learn`t a lot of what my own views are and what theories and concepts i can use to express my views and put my case across!

I am an ethnochoreologist (dance teller), an experienced educationalist, and a curious researcher. These three elements come together to provide the perfect seeds for performances, bespoke workshops, and choreographies to tell more than one story and serve as transformational tools.

As a choreographer and performer, I specialise in outdoor performances and mass movement choreographies. I thrive in the opportunities that outdoor performances have for us in terms of the reach, space and the unknown (weather, landscape, urban furnishings and close contact with people who may or may not expect the performance).

Since 1999 I have extensively worked in the UK and in International Festivals in Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, Brazil and Cuba. I am passionate about the history, stylistic qualities, and current developments of dance and movement techniques and traditions in different countries and eras. I strive to communicate my sources of inspiration to my students so that they can have their own take on the representation and performance of the choreographies.

Important aspects of my work are intention in movement, the use of imagery, and co-creation. My dance works are influenced by the participants’ stories and performers so the work is owned by them and true to the theatre play, narrative, or performance piece.

My work is heavily influenced by the Afro-Brazilian tradition, which I started studying in the 1990s, and Indian dance ecology.

When I first encountered Indian dance styles while performing with Emergency Exit Arts in their show Runga Rung (2005 – 2007) I was captivated. I then undertook training with Himany Dixit in Udaipur (India) and continued my research and practice. This learning, and continued practice since,  has strongly supported me in the creation of choreographies and performances like Yamuna Yemanja performed at Notting Hill Carnival (2014) fusing Indian and Brazilian dance traditions and I have been performing with Bhangra 4 x 4 (since 2014) as part of the Burning the Clocks (Same Sky) celebrations in Brighton, UK

Performing would not be the same without collaborating with people and engaging in projects that may take me out of my comfort zone. Some examples include collaborating with Mariana Pinho (Gandaia Arts, Home | gandaia) coordinating and choreographing groups to take part in Notting Hill carnival  since 2008), hosting Brazilian artists for specialist workshops (Mayombe Masai, Ile Aiye, Rosangela Silvestre) and creating new pieces of work with sculptors and filmmakers (Hazel Reeves ‘Sculptural Murmurings’ (Sculptural Murmurings | Hazel Reeves) ; Felix Prater ‘Murmurations of Humans’, f e l i x p r a t e r – The Self We Share)

One more area of performance is my work with dramaturgs and theatre companies to support the fluidity and choreography in their plays, examples of which have been The Banyan Tree Theatre Group and inroads productions.

If you would like to have a conversation about a bespoke choreographic work,  book Rosaria Gracia Dance for a performance, or for movement coaching, please get in touch.