Take 5 with Inês Bogéa, Artistic Director of Brazil’s hottest dance company

“São Paolo is a very big city, there are people from all around the world. We have different cultures inside our city and I think São Paulo Dance Company reflects these different ways of living and ways of seeing our world.” Inês Bogéa

Not only are São Paulo Dance Company visiting the UK and Ireland for the first time, they’re also on their largest ever tour. With a fiery and poignant triple bill that showcases the company’s technical skill and Brazilian flair, Artistic Director Inês Bogéa shares an inside scoop into what we have to look forward to when they take to the Concert Hall stage this month.

Photography: Iari Davies

Q. Brazilian culture is infused into the DNA of São Paulo Dance Company; tell us more about this.

“São Paulo is a dance company with a very special Brazilian accent. We have the passion for dance, the energy of Brazil, and we love to share that with audiences around the world.

“Movement is a huge part of our culture, we celebrate life through dance. We have sun for most parts of the year and I think this affects our emotions.”

Q. What do you look for in your performers, and how do you approach directing the company?

“In our dancers, I’m looking for individuality and the capacity to express themselves through dancing. Of course, the technical skill is important, but I think it’s more important to want to share your ideas through dancing.

“I try to make the company interesting for the dancers, for the team and of course for the audience. I also invite some foreign choreographers to work for us – I think this is another way for the company to learn from other experts.”

Q. The three works in your programme all have different choreographers; what can we expect from each piece?

“The three works talk about rituals in different ways. The first, Anthem, looks at how we are connected through a common purpose, Gnawa talks about the rituals of people who live in the North of Africa and their connections with the natural world, and in Agora we talk about time, memories and the reverberation of Brazilian dance.

“Each choreographer creates a unique world through movement, the connections with the music and the images they evoke.”

Q. What do you enjoy the most about touring?

“I am curious about all the places we are visiting. There is a world to discover together and it’s good that we can also learn a little bit about UK culture and life.

“We are open to sharing ideas, and aim to meet people and understand different ways of looking at our world; we are looking forward to showing audiences a little bit of our culture and, through the dance, we will all feel the energy of Brazil.”

Q. We’re thrilled to welcome you to Brighton with São Paolo’s UK debut. You’ve personally toured the UK before with Brazilian dance theatre company, Grupo Corpo - how are you feeling about returning?

“I have very good memories of when I danced in Britain with Grupo Corpo. We were there for five weeks and the audiences were very warm. I hope that on this tour they enjoy themselves and feel connected with the energy, emotions and beauty of the dancers.”