Gazeta Mercatil - Gazeta do Rio 01 de SEPTEMBER de 1999
Gazeta Mercatil - Gazeta do Rio
Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
01/SEPTEMBER/1999
By Monica Riani
DEBORAH COLKER OPENS "CASA", HER NEW SHOW IN RIO, AND CELEBRATES SUCCESS ABROAD
Daily classes of classical ballet, tireless search for precision and extraordinary energy make the framework of Casa, the new show of Deborah Colker’s company which has been rehearsed for the last eighteen months. Casa, her fifth work, has been preceded by Vulc?o, Velox, Mix (a synthesis of the two previous shows and created for the French Lyon Dance Festival in 1997) and Rota, framing five year’s work of this tuned up group which got its start in 1994 for a joint program with Momix in Rio de Janeiro.
The so longing premiere happens next Friday at Teatro Jo?o Caetano, after touring through Southern Brazil. On the stage, a three-storied wooden and iron house (7 meter high and 6 tons in weight), designed by Gringo Cardia, makes the set of the whole choreography. Colker’s 15 dancers occupy every room of this scenic house showing daily home routine - eating, sleeping, cooking, watching TV, doing nothing, dreaming. Among the many thrilling moments is a sequence done on all three floors, simultaneously, without the dancers seeing each other.
Two poles like the ones used at Fire Brigade drills serve as props where dancers scramble up and down. "Technically speaking, I think Casa is the most sophisticated work of our company", says Colker. "We have classes with three different dance teachers - daily classical ballet - and associate energy with design and technical expertise. We must keep a very precise synchrony" - she herself was a dancer with Coringa Dance Group in the 1970’s, and was a volleyball player; she also plays the piano.
Super-fitness and a refined technique were the paramount factors to attract around 6,000 people to Colker’s London debut last May at the Peacock Theatre. Colker and her troupe had a prior performance in Germany before going to London. "London is a fantastic showcase, Petrobras Distribuidora’s manager (the company’s sole sponsor) was delighted. There was always a certain skepticism to use culture as a lever into business, but I think this is past. We got twelve favorable reviews on our six performances, and were sold out on the last day", says Jo?o Elias, Colker’s husband and the company’s producer.
Since 1995, Petrobras Distribuidora has sponsored the group and in 1998 a three-year contract was signed. "Our tours have only been possible because there is a sponsorship, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to afford the expenses which amount to 300,000 reals, mainly due to the cost of the transportation of the fabulous sets, which are an important part of the company’s performances. The good contacts we had with the British media were also quite significant - a press conference was held in February prior to the UK debit". Jo?o Elias refers to the very good reviews the company had in The Independent and Evening Standard.
The company’s organization and the theatrical effects of the show were the main points that accounted for a seven-week contract in France in 2000 and an invitation to perform in Singapore resulting from the company’s success in UK, lead to a worldwide respect. "Even New York agents have been more receptive", says Jo?o Elias; "now we have to adjust ourselves to national and international schedules". After five weeks in Rio, the group will be performing Rota in Buenos Aires, Toronto and New York. From March to June Casa will be seen in S?o Paulo and other important cities in North, Northeast and Middle West Brazil.
The company carries Petrobras’ logo on its tours. "We understand that the association between our trademark and Companhia de Dan?a Deborah Colker is extremely positive", says Elenora de Martino Salim, who coordinates Petrobras sponsorship. "In Southern Brazil, Casa had an audience of 8,000 people. Last year (1998) Rota aroused the interest of 20,000 people in Rio. Apart from that, there is also the benefit of developing audiences, since the prices are always low."
Nearly 1,000,000 reals a year provided by Petrobras grant the company’s stability, that is, hiring 30 professionals (15 dancers, technicians, chiropractors and probationers) and paying their perks and box office profit sharing. The team also includes winning light designer Jorginho de Carvalho, costume designer Yam? Reis, Fl?vio Colker and set designer Gringo Cardia. S?rgio Mekler, Berna and Kassin are responsible for the soundtrack of all shows, including Casa, inspired by Mendelsohn’s quartet to build up a powerful electronic soundtrack.
The idea to this show struck Colker when she moved with her family to a house in Jardim Bot?nico in 1997. "I had always lived in apartments", she says; "it was an old dream to gather my children and Jo?o’s and to have a garden, dogs, …". In April 1998 she started off Casa with the first movement research. "To create Casa, I needed Velox to understand verticality, and Rota to understand verticality between planes. Visiting the Bauhaus Museum, in Weimar, Germany, I decided to build up this unfurnished house, where the movements fill each room with meaning", declares the choreographer. "The part of the show I like most is Food, that’s where a real Babette’s feast takes place."
