Encantado, the new and long-awaited performance by Brazilian choreographer Lia Rodrigues, will open the upcoming DDD – Festival Dias da Dança, on April 18 2023, at Teatro Rivoli.

In the Afro-Brazilian culture, the word “Encantado” (literally “Charmed”) is used to designate animated entities, the encantados, which navigate between land and sky, dunes and rocks, turning them into sacred places. It is these mysterious forces, intimately linked to nature, which are the inspiration behind Rodrigues’ new piece.

With Covid-19 impacting particularly heavily on Brazil, the choreographer asked herself how we could “enchant our fears”, in order to recreate a collective dynamic and bring individuals closer together. 

Encantado is a mesmerising choreography for 11 dancers and countless fabrics, in which these forces – similar to the ‘encantados’ – journey from one body to the other.

A prominent personality of Brazilian contemporary dance, Rodrigues created the Centro de Artes da Maré, in 2009, and the funded the Escola Livre de Danças da Maré, in 2011, both located in Rio de Janeiro, where she has been developing artistic work with the local communities. A regular on European stages, she has already presented several of her works in Portugal, including Pindorama (Serralves, 2014), Para que o sol não caia (Campo Alegre, 2017) and Fúria (Teatro Nacional São João – DDD 2019).

The 7th DDD – Festival Dias da Dança will unfold between April 18 – 30, 2023.