Zona Franca

Inspired by all kinds of occasions where people come together, from religious gatherings to rave parties, choreographer Alice Ripoll and company Cia Suave create the ultimate performance space, a zona franca. In it, dances and types of music from the youth culture of contemporary Brazil push each other into steam.

Zona Franca

Location

Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA)

Leidseplein 26

1017 PT Amsterdam

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Political and poetic theatre experience

With Zona Franca, dance company Cia Suave from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro brings a total political and poetic experience with exciting Brazilian dance and music styles in the pressure cooker. The vibrant eclectic mix echoes untamed energy: the call for freedom from a young and contemporary Brazil, eager to rise from the ashes.

Perfect means of expression

Passinho, with his ultra-fast footwork, the tight rhythms of dancinha, the self-confident vogue, samba and hip hop are a favourite among Brazilian youth. The dance and music styles are the perfect means of expression to quench the thirst for life and express the desire for freedom. Alice Ripoll combines this eruption of zest for life with theatre and song to make the call of the new generation sound deafening.

We seem to be at an afterparty, in that half-awake moment in the morning where everyone descends into their own world. But when the confetti balloons start popping and the party guests twerk at each other, one big pulsating ritual is created that moves back and forth between vulnerability, anger and joy. Zona Franca is an explicitly political dance piece. It is about hope and optimism in a time of transition between Brazilian presidents Bolsonaro and Lula. How can a community develop in a damaged social context?