How to escape the traps of systems of representation and visibility? Leandro Souza, who comes from Brazil and lives and works in Amsterdam, researched the idea of escape. He based his search on the legacy of resistance and confrontation of his African ancestors from sub-Saharan regions, who were transformed into commodities, enclosed, and forced into centuries of degrading labor. Their history provided Souza with choreographic approaches from an expanded perspective, and pointed the way for refusing the forces flattening the experience of life today.
Souza: “Escape is a muse that insists on whispering in our ears at a time when we have been convinced to wish for our own capture. It continues to inspire the (re)invention of ways of living, doing, seeing and thinking about existence beyond what is known, asking questions: is there no alternative? Is this where we wanted to go? Do we want to run away from everything? Escape from what? When, how and with whom?”
One tactic for escape is entanglement. Souza uses it to create a choreographic dynamic between body and word. His solitary body moves through the space, uttering excerpts from song lyrics, philosophical texts, and quoting prominent figures from Western culture. All the while, he performs gestures and movements from the worldwide dance archive, from both the global center and periphery. In disrupting the program in our minds, by breaking the rigid grammatical structures of spoken or embodied language, Souza opens up possibilities for reinvention.
Concept, research, choreography - Leandro Souza Performance - Leandro Souza Light Design - Patsy Lassbo Sound Design - to be defined Costume - Leandro Souza Tutors - Konstantina Georgelou and Jeroen Fabius Advisors - Renan Marcondes Produced in the context of - Das Choreography, Das Graduate School and by the producer Tetembua Dandara. Co-produced by Spring Performing Arts Festival 2024. Thanks to Allyson Amaral, Alina Ruiz, Aline Olmos, Isis Andreatta and Mário Lopes
