Jornal do Brasil - Caderno B 12 de SEPTEMBER de 1997
Jornal do Brasil - Caderno B
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
12/SEPTEMBER/1997
By Nayse L?pez
POP SHOW WITH QUALITY
First, she presented the unusual mix of fashion with samba and ‘pas-de-deux’. Then climbing up the walls, she transformed the phenomenon of communication, which brought in new and numerous spectators to see the Brazilian modern dance. The new Deborah Colker Dance Company show had everything to be a decisive step. Had it been a failure, it would confirm the opinion of those who say that her success is short-lived. If it commanded applause and cries of enthusiasm from the audience, then it would be established that the theatre-going public in Brazil is not prejudiced and that there is space for the various types of dance shows. Fortunately, Rota is included in the latter case.
The show starts playing with the vocabulary of the classical ballet, then mixes that with a vocabulary of the everyday life gestures in which choreography is so interested. The result is light and entertaining, accounting for an advancement both in choreography and technique, in relation to her latest production, Velox. This is because now Deborah is less worried with translating the fundamentals of her language.
She lets her dancers find the best geometric distribution, with groups of two, three, and other combinations, that enrich the scene and the choice of movements.
After a short interval, as at first the public was being taken by Schubert and Mozart on a musical stroll, it is now in the fin-de-si?cle ambience with movements and references to the sounds of the planet earth, while the company, now in a futuristic scenery, with the stairs, and the magnificent wheel created by Gringo Cardia stands out, causing a visual impact. The dancers are showing the falsely altered impression of weight, lightness and speed. Deborah works the movements as in weightless space and draws the choreographic design at the different planes of the stage. The choreography Gravity, difficult and with a display of nuances, is the most sophisticated and successful choreography created by Deborah.
The wheel is already the star of the show, after the escalation of the wall in Velox. There is a difference though, from the previous show. This time Deborah did not have to concentrate her efforts on the huge iron artefact, creating attention spots to attract the public’s feelings by the risky performances of Jefferson Ant?nio and Marcelo Lopes. Even though this scene; where the most impressive and significant visual impact and movements of the show take place, the wheel impresses a feeling that there is more of the choreography in it. And it is here that the two images are, which alone would attract the public to see Rota: the classic design of the human body by Michelangelo, and the poetically transformed human beings into carts for the Ferris wheel, at the sound of Strauss. Finally, the sensation of having seen an action movie, a good videoclip, or a musical rock show, all these productions which commonly give the impression of false erudition. There is technical quality in the choreography of Rota, even though some people are slow in recognising it. For Deborah, it is one more sure step in her search for communication. For the world of dance, Rota means an unending line at the Teatro Jo?o Caetano that will be good to see."
