Lavagem

Brut Nordwest [ENA] In the Brazilian Portuguese language the word "Lavagem" means cleanliness, to clean something, to delete traces. It could be also understood as money laundry, brainwashing or cleansed soul. The dance performance Lavagem is about reality and fantasy mix. While taking unusual performance forms this piece looks at the establishment of the contact between dancers and spectators.

This dance performance is also transferring the world of fantasies where soap bubbles mean the world of dreams which contrasts with the real world marked by the lack of social mobility. The choreographer and director of the ensemble Alice Ripoll was born in Rio de Janeiro and after graduating from the dance school she was teaching dance in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Soon she received several supporters, and their ensemble was developing quickly while performing in Brazil but also in Europe.

This dance piece makes thinking about physical closeness which can evoke claustrophobia but also suggest concrete or symbolic constriction. It can also present itself like a cosy womb where smells, skin textures and warmth emanate from bodies and their perceptions. Lavagem presents an ancestral past filled with struggles but also with secrets about joy and cheerfulness.