Maranhão is awarded the 20th edition of the Dance in Transit Festival

Dança em Trânsito, one of the longest-running contemporary dance festivals in Brazil, celebrates 20 years with a commemorative edition that will arrive in Maranhão this month. From August 12 to 16, the festival will present in São Luís and also in the municipalities of Itapecuru-Mirim and Santo Amaro a totally free program, with dance shows, creative residencies and workshops, with the participation of national and international companies.

The 20th Dance in Transit is presented by Instituto Cultural Vale, with the realization and production of Espaço Tápias, through the artistic direction and curatorship of Giselle Tápias and Flávia Tápias. Since 2002, the international festival has accumulated superlative numbers, with around a thousand performances in more than 30 cities, in Brazil and abroad, involving a hundred companies from 16 countries, seen by more than 60,000 people. In 2020, during the pandemic, it held an online version – nominated for the São Paulo Association of Art Critics (APCA) Award, in the “Diffusion” category – and, in 2021, the first hybrid edition, with passage through 25 cities and, for the first time, was in São Luís.

This year, the idea is to expand the access of Maranhão residents to the universe of contemporary dance, also allowing participation in artistic residencies. In São Luís, the festival program will take place on August 12, 13 and 16 with performances at Praça Nauro Machado, the Vale Maranhão Cultural Center (CCVM) and the Arthur Azevedo Theater; in Itapecuru-Mirim, in Quilombo Santa Rosa dos Pretos, the creative residency will be held on August 13 and 14 and performances of shows on the 14th; and in Santo Amaro, creative residence on August 14 and 15 and performances on the 15th, at the Central Square.

“When we created Dança em Trânsito in 2002, we thought not only of holding another dance festival, but contributing, in some way, to a greater exchange between artists from Brazil and abroad and to the democratization of dance, whether through itinerancy through other capitals and small cities with little access to culture, or with the occupation of public spaces in free performances, or even opening space in the program for companies and artists outside the Rio-São Paulo axis”, explains Giselle Tápias.

The 20th edition of Dance in Transit will be held until October 23, occupying stages and public spaces in 13 Brazilian capitals and 18 other cities, with shows, residencies, exchanges and workshops. In all, 41 companies from Brazil, Spain, Slovenia, France, Italy, Switzerland and South Korea participate in the event.

This year the festival is going to Paris (France) from September 14 to 18 and promotes the unprecedented Brazilian Showcase of Contemporary Dance, for representatives from various countries to watch the invited Brazilian shows.

The full program is available on the website www.dancaemtransito.ma.gov.br. See below the schedule in Maranhão: