Nederlands
Puff, een ademstoot die het idee oproept van iets dat als bij toverslag verdwijnt. Vanaf het moment dat Hiltinho Fantástico het podium betreedt, lijkt zijn lichaam zichzelf nauwelijks te kunnen bedwingen. Het wordt meegesleurd, versnelt en stort zich in een onstuimige stroom van beweging. De danser beweegt voortdurend tussen controle en overgave. Zijn voeten razen in een duizelingwekkend tempo langs uiteenlopende dansstijlen, terwijl zijn lichaam soms lijkt te zweven en dan weer plotseling in elkaar zakt. Elke ademhaling, elke pauze en elk ritme van zijn lichaam wordt dans.
Alles wat zich op het podium ontvouwt is een voortdurende, spontane transformatie: soms ironisch, soms ongrijpbaar, bijna hallucinerend. Alsof er steeds iets net buiten je blikveld blijft. In Puff wordt het lichaam een plek waar herinnering, verbeelding en verandering samenkomen. De voorstelling onderzoekt het idee van vermomming als een manier om tot zwijgen gebrachte culturen door te geven: door technieken, boodschappen, tradities en voorouderlijke kennis te verhullen, blijven ze juist voortbestaan.
Deze solovoorstelling bouwt voort op de langdurige samenwerking tussen Alice Ripoll en Hiltinho Fantástico, die de afgelopen zeven jaar samenwerkten binnen de dansgezelschappen SUAVE en REC. Beide collectieven ontwikkelen een hybride bewegingstaal waarin hedendaagse dans en Braziliaanse urban dansvormen samenkomen. Eerder werkten Ripoll en Fantástico samen aan de internationaal geprezen voorstellingen Cria, Lavagem, aCORdo en Zona Franca, die te zien waren op toonaangevende festivals en in theaters over de hele wereld.
Everything happening there is so much spontaneous transformation. At times ironic, at times almost elusive, almost hallucinatory. Like something that remains always beyond sight. In Puff, the body becomes a place of memory, imagination, and transformation and intertwines. The piece explores the concept of “disguise” as a device for transmitting silenced cultures by concealing techniques, messages, traditions, or ancestral knowledge.
This solo performance marks a continuation of the long-standing collaboration between Alice Ripoll and Hiltinho Fantástico, who have been working together for the past seven years within the SUAVE and REC dance companies. Both collectives develop a hybrid language that merges contemporary dance with Brazilian urban forms. The two artists have collaborated in acclaimed works such as Cria, Lavagem, aCORdo, and Zona Franca, which have toured major festivals and theaters around the world.
“From the moment he suddenly appeared before the audience like a trickster, and began dancing as if he were drunk, the atmosphere and space-time instantly became his. His feet barely touched the floor, and he was always floating in the air. It was as if his body had been taken over by someone (a spirit? a demon?), and he couldn't stop dancing. Time - past, present and future - does not exist in his body, and he cannot stop jumping around, intoxicated by the world of spirits. After that, it changes into a very elegant dance that seems to be a mix of various South American cultures. It was a dance that seemed to express the fragility of the human spirit, anger, sadness, joy, the joy of sexuality that transcends the male and female genders, animals, birds, fish, ghosts... all of these things seemed to be running through his body. For me, as an audience member, the afterimages of each moment of the dance remained in my eyes, and the layers of these afterimages overlapped to create a landscape that I had never seen before”.
Alice Ripoll
Alice Ripoll is a Brazilian choreographer and director. In her work, she brings contemporary dance together with urban dance styles from Brazil. Through research and improvisation, images emerge in which the dancers’ experiences and memories take center stage.
Alice currently works with two companies, Cia. REC and Cia. SUAVE. Her performances have been presented at major festivals in Brazil and internationally, including HAU in Berlin, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Kunstenfestivaldesarts in Brussels, Wiener Festwochen, and BAM in New York. Previously, Alice was a guest at Theater Rotterdam with her performances Zona Franca and aDORno.
In a recent article by Dans Magazine, you can read more about her distinctive movement language and international impact - including insights from our programmer Dave Schwab. The article is in Dutch. Read the full piece here.
Hiltinho Fantástico
Hiltinho Fantástico has been collaborating with choreographer Alice Ripoll for many years and is affiliated with the companies REC and SUAVE. His movement language is rooted in Brazilian urban dance forms such as passinho, samba and capoeira, which he blends with contemporary dance. With his physical precision and intense charisma, he tours internationally at leading festivals and venues.
