Friday, March 25, 2011

Viver Brasil, a Los Angeles-based company fusing Brazilian and African dance styles, brings ancient stories to life through movement and live music Friday, April 1 at 8 p.m. in Kenan Auditorium as part of the UNCW Arts in Action Performance Series.

Viver Brasil's Feet on the Ground takes audiences on an inspiring cultural journey through Brazil, including the martial arts/dance form of capoeira, samba and ceremonial celebrations. The performance showcases exhilarating Afro-Brazilian traditional and contemporary dance, stunning costumes and spirited percussion and vocals in a display that LA Weekly praised as "breathless and colorful… (a) vibrant swirl of motion and music."

The company's choreography also highlights the Bahian carnaval tradition. Viver Brasil's repertory reflects artistic excellence, rigorous research and dialogue with living masters in Bahia and younger virtuoso musicians and choreographers. Viver Brasil produces dance concerts, works with community organizations, and sponsors educational programs on campuses from elementary school to colleges and universities. The company's unique blend of the folkloric and the modern speaks to a growing audience around the world. Viver Brasil features the choreography of Rosangela Silvestre, whose signature technique combines sacred dances, gestures and symbols with a contemporary movement vocabulary.

Viver Brasil was founded in Los Angeles in 1997 by Artistic Director Linda Yudin and Co-Director Luiz Badaró. The award-winning dance company is rooted in the techniques of Salvador, the capitol of Bahia, Brazil, and embodies the beautiful and complex stories of the orixá, sacred energies of Afro-Brazilian culture. Their innovative stage presentations explore Brazil's racial, social and political history and are living extensions of the history of Afro-Brazilian dance on stage.

Viver Brasil received the New England Foundation for the Arts/National Dance Project Award in 2007 and again in 2009 for the new work, Alaafia. Viver Brasil's Feet on the Ground was the 2010 winner of the Lester Horton Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in World Dance.

This performance is funded in part by the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts. NDP is supported by lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, with additional funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Community Connections Fund of the MetLife Foundation, and the Boeing Company Charitable Trust.

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets are $22 for the general public; $18 for senior citizens and UNCW employees; $8 for non-UNCW students; and $6 for UNCW students. Group discounts are available. Tickets are available by visiting www.etix.com or calling Kenan Box Office at 910.962.7600. Box Office hours are Noon to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday and one hour prior to the event.

About UNCW Arts in Action Performance Series
The Arts in Action Performance Series seeks to culturally enrich, educate and entertain both students and the Wilmington community through the presentation of diverse programs featuring professional, high-quality performing artists. The series is supported by grants from the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources; South Arts Dance Touring Initiative, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the North Carolina Arts Council; South Arts; and the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts. For more information, please visit the UNCW Presents web site at www.uncw.edu/presents .