Brazilian martial arts fused with avant-garde hip hop dance: discover the energy of Compagnie Käfig when they take over the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre stage with their performance of Käfig: Brasil on Tuesday, April 14 at 7:30pm.

The show starts with the sound of classical music, with 11 male dancers portraying the poetry that the melody suggests. Suddenly, the beat picks up and electronica music pours through the speakers and the dancers reveal the energy and the masculinity of their art form. Seamlessly blending Capoeira, a Brazilain martial art form, with the urban movement of contemporary hip-hop dance Compagnie Käfig pushes the boundaries of movement to their limits.
“Dance becomes mass movement that is percussive, jubilatory and inif which hip-hop also finds its place, its groove, its roots and sometimes even, its soul’ says Anthony Egéa, one of the Käfig: Brasil’s choreographers, “…this music, combined with its dance, takes the body into a state of euphoric innocence where hearts beat to an adrenaline pulse.”

Brasil is built on the concept of connecting people, which is revealed as a collection of men await an elevator. The points of view of each man are slowly revealed through voluntary flirts with animation and slapstick movements. The knots that bind each player to one another are suggested through the physical contortions and vocal acrobatics of the performers. Untying those links is what brings people together and exposes human nature.

The desire to discover and encounter other worlds of dance led to the creation of Käfig: Brasil. The piece is a collaboration of company dancers under the artistic direction of Mourad Merzouki, as well as choreography of Denis Plassard, Céline Lefevre, Octavio Nassur, and Anthony Egéa. “The aim of this work is to show […] how a variety of cultures is mingled with contemporary pop production styles,” says Nassur.

Since the creation of Käfig: Brasil it has been performed 76 times in 44 cities and 7 countries, including France, Israel, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, and the USA. Vernon is one of only three Canadian stops included on the tour schedule.

“Formidable is the adjective that best suits the eleven artists who glide with palpable ease from one scene to another.” says journalist Géraldine Pigault for the Firect Montpellier Plus, “When Vivaldi is summoned to turn out the lights on Kafig:Brasil, one cannot help thinking that this is about much more than hip-hop. What we are seeing here is nothing other than a full-on confrontation with the 21st century.”

Tickets for Käfig: Brasil are $40 for adults, $37 for seniors, $35 for students and are on sale now through the Ticket Seller Box Office by calling 549-SHOW (7469) or online at www.ticketseller.ca.

The Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre Society thanks our sponsors for their generous support: Telus, Kal Tire, Best Western Plus Vernon Lodge, the Vernon Morning Star, the Okanagan Advertiser, the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Regional District of the North Okanagan.