ABOUT

Brazilian choreographer and performer Joao holds an MA in Choreography from the Palucca University in Germany (2020). His work focuses primarily on societal themes such as education and communication, making use of a cynical, witty, absurd voice to create dance that comments on his understanding of our times.

 

Approaching Choreography as the organization of space, Joao's practice of movement generation integrates with other performative elements such as spoken word, the manipulation of the setting design and theatre. 

 

He looks to create onstage events that offer a complexity of inputs and leave plenty of room for doubt. Inspired by John Keats' term negative knowledge - which speaks on the importance of not knowing to remain receptive and aware - Joao creates works with specificity and craft to offer to the audience a moment of uncertainty. 

 

 

A graduate from Arts Umbrella Dance (2013) in Vancouver, Canada, Joao danced with the Ballett der Oper Graz, Austria for five years, under Darrel Toulon and later Jörg Weinöhl. He freelanced for institutions such as the Venice Biennale, the Staatstheater Darmstadt and Wen Wei Dance. Over the course of his career, he has been in works by artists such as Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Aszure Barton, Fernando Magadan, Lesley Telford and Stephen Shropshire. He currently performs alongside the theatre company of the Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg.

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Joao created multiple short pieces in Austria until 2018, co-choreographed the Opening Ceremony of the Neue Bauhaus Museum Dessau, had his work performed in Germany and Switzerland, and attended choreographic residencies in Europe and Canada. In 2020, Joao conceived, produced and performed his first full-evening work, a solo piece titled BILDUNG?, for which he created the choreography, sound design and text.