2013-14 Press Kit 2_FINAL

2013-2014 Press Kit

Designed by Alexa Franky
Photo Credits: Mitchell Zachs and Jade Matarazzo

Table of Contents

Artistic Director/Choreographer …………………………………………………………… 4
Mission Statement ……………………………………………………………………………………… 6
About the Company ………………………………………………………………………………….. 7
ASBD Programs …………………………………………………………………………………………… 8
Current Repertory ……………………………………………………………………………………. 10
Additional Repertory ……………………………………………………………………………….. 12
Reviews & Previews ………………………………………………………………………………….. 14
Contact Information ……………………………………………………………………………….. 23

Augusto Soledade
Artistic Director/Choreographer

Augusto Soledade, a native of Bahia, Brazil, is a
performer, choreographer and currently serves as a full
time Associate Professor of Dance at Nova Southeastern
University in Davie, FL and as Founder Artistic Director
and resident choreographer for Augusto Soledade
Brazzdance, formerly Brazz Dance Theater, in Miami.

In the fall of 2012 Mr. Soledade was awarded for the
fourth time the Miami Dade Choreographer’s
Fellowship from the Miami Dade Cultural Affairs, and
for the second consecutive time the 2012 Individual
Artist Fellowship from the State of Florida Division of
Cultural Affairs.

In August 2011, Mr. Soledade was nominated for the Zelda Fichandler Fellowship, and received
the Creation Fund Grant from National Performance Network (NPN). In 2010, Mr. Soledade was
awarded for the third time the Dance Miami Choreographer’s Fellowship; he received this
important Fellowship the second time in September of 2008. Also in 2008, he was awarded a
Guggenheim Fellowship in Choreography.

Since his relocation to Miami, FL, he has been awarded the Florida Individual Artist Fellowship
and the Artist Access Grant, the Artist Enhancement Grant and the International Cultural
Exchange Grant from the State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs. In 2005 he received the
Miami Dade Choreographer’s Fellowship for the first time, and the Creative Capital Workshop
Grant and the Community Grant from Miami Dade Cultural Affairs.

He has also been awarded multiple grant funds from the Northampton Arts Council and Smith
College to develop choreographic as well as research projects.

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Other Positions at Universities and Colleges include: Assistant Professor at Florida International
University in Miami, FL, Visiting Assistant Professor and Graduate Advisor at Smith College,
Massachusetts, Visiting Assistant Professor in Dance at the University Of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
Guest Artist Instructor at Wells College, NY and adjunct instructor at University of Rochester.

He received his M.F.A in Dance from SUNY Brockport in 1998. Also in 1998, he received the
Pylyshenko-Strasser Graduate Dance Award and was the finalist in the dance category for the 1998
Thayer Fellowship.

His dance training started at the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil in a program with strong
modern dance emphasis and has trained with Garth Fagan, and Clyde Morgan. He also holds a
degree in journalism from the Federal University of Bahia.

“He has a clear vision about dance relative to his views about the human experience. His
inventive choreography reflects these views and visions with confidence.”
Garth Fagan, Founder/Artistic Director - Garth Fagan Dance

“His work is detailed and expressive. He is highly professional: having a refined technique and
mature artistic sensibility.”

Dian Dong, Associate Director - Chen & Dancers

“Mr. Soledade’s choreography has a strong Afro-Brazilian component together with a fine
contemporary dance style, making it an absolutely original work of art.”

William Rowland III, Executive Artistic Director - Paul Robeson
Performing Arts Co.

“As soon as he starts demonstrating steps or moving along with the dancers, Soledade seems a
different person - animated, even animalistic, his tall, rangy frame moving with startling speed

and fluidity. The combination of wilderness and precision is as unexpected as his blend of
modern and Afro-Brazilian dance...”
Jordan Levin - Miami Herald

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Mission Statement

Our mission is to promote the production of dance as a
form of art by bringing cultural and artistic awareness to
the communities through cultural, educational and
charitable activities, to function as a dance company,
providing a ground for the creation of new dance works
by the Founding Artistic Director, to develop future
dancers and expansion of audiences, through dance
concerts, classes and workshops, to be an active agent in
the discussion of dance as a form of art, its philosophy,
history, aesthetics and furtherance of the Founding
Artistic Director’s artistic vision.

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About Our Organization

Brazz Dance Theater first started as a collaborative project in 1998 between dance
partners Augusto Soledade and Rachelle Zambito. Rochester, NY was the first home
for Brazz Dance Theater. In 2000, Brazz Dance Theater relocated to Northampton,
Massachusetts, where it took the next step toward formalizing its structure and
mission incorporating as a not-for-profit corporation in 2001. The 501(c)(3) status
with the IRS was granted in 2002. Beginning in 2012, Brazz Dance Theater will also be
doing business as Augusto Soledade Brazzdance, a celebration of a clear artistic vision.

Since its relocation to Miami in 2004, Augusto Soledade Brazzdance has enjoyed an
unprecedented growth that has placed the company among the leading contemporary
dance companies in the community. As a contemporary dance company, our role is to
seek innovative projects that create fresh content and outlook on global life, becoming
a vessel for relevant contemporary dance repertory. We aim to function as a kind of
‘Griot’, story-teller, of choreographic ideas and stories. A ‘Griot’ that brings ancient
knowledge to the present revering the past, and aspiring a future that is filled with rich
cultural and artistic context.

Augusto Soledade Brazzdance's dancers are professional artists with a wide and well-
rounded training background; their training ranges from classical and contemporary
ballet to modern and contemporary dance as well as African diasporic dances. Our
dancers come from various backgrounds including Caribbean, Brazilian, and North
America. Artistic Director Augusto Soledade feels that the diverse make up of the
company is an essential element in the definition and expansion of his claimed Afro-
Fusion style, and will further enhance the notion that his works move from culturally
rooted to universally scoped.

AUGUSTO SOLEDADE

brazzdance

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ASBD Programs

Asiwa ju Program

Asiwaju (ah-see-wa-joo) is a Yoruban word meaning “pioneer” or “the one who opens
paths.” We believe the arts, particularly dance, can be a fun, inspiring, and even transformative
experience in people’s lives. Through Asiwaju we hope to start the process of opening pathways
into the arts for students who may not otherwise have that opportunity. Asiwaju is a flexible
educational program that can be implemented in a variety of settings including schools, colleges
and universities, dance studios and community centers. We teach Afro-Brazilian and Afro-
Fusion dance techniques, in addition, we can teach and/or create repertory for participants of
our program.

Impact on the Community

We anticipate that our Asiwaju Educational Program will be building an awareness of and an
appreciation for dance that might not otherwise be available to various groups and communities.
We feel our program has a particular relevance because Afro-Brazilian dance speaks of the
empowerment of a people, community effort, and the power to bring forth a positive attitude
towards life. All of these concepts and values are especially important for young generations to
experience. In addition, through Asiwaju, students will have the experience of taking classes
from, interacting with, and watching performances by professional dance artists. Students will
gain an appreciation of dance as a form of art and expression and will be offered a stimulating
learning environment by interacting with a diverse group of artists.

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MiamiDance Mecca Project

Miami Dance Mecca is a project that we believe can help us strengthen the notion of Miami as a
viable, vibrant and diverse emerging center for dance in the country, thus increasing the rate of local
professional dancers who will remain in Miami to pursue a dance career, and attracting out-of-town
dancers into our community.
Our objectives with this project is to support our organization in hiring full-time professional dancers
and staff; to create internship opportunities for dancers to develop professionally and artistically, and
to hone the skills of arts administrators starting in the field; to impact our community by offering
open rehearsals, school performances and master class series that will be broadly accessible to public
schools and community centers through our educational program.

Augusto Soledade Brazzdance is a recipient of the 2012 Knight Arts
Challenge Award in support of the Miami Dance Mecca Project.
Please consider making a donation that will help us fund this
project. Donations can be made by check, or via our website.

Workshops/Master Classes

We offer master classes, workshops and residencies in Afro-Brazilian dance and contemporary
Afro-Fusion style. In addition, we may re-stage repertory, or create original choreography for selected
dance ensembles.

Internship Program

Augusto Soledade Brazzdance offers rich and stimulating internship opportunities for college students,
graduate students, and recent graduates seeking experience in dance and arts administration. We
provide interns the experience of working behind the scenes in one of Miami’s leading contemporary
dance companies. Interns have the opportunity to enhance their skills and knowledge of dance and arts
management while working closely with the staff and artist of Brazzdance. Internships are available for
college credit only, and portfolio building on a volunteer basis.

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Current Repertory

Touring Programs

Tours with 4-6 dancers, 1 Choreographer, 1 Lighting Director/TD.

Cordel

Cordel is choreographer Augusto Soledade’s latest work that considers the history and social
implications of the Argentine Tango and American Hip-hop culture as well as the literary
tradition of Cordel in the Northeast region of Brazil as inspirations for the creation of an abstract
contemporary dance. Cordel brings in its core a discussion on marginalization and social
tensions around the globe. The music for Cordel is composed by Daniel Bernard Roumain.
Commissioned by NPN Creation Fund Grant, Florida Dance Association, Alabama Dance
Council and South Miami Dade Cultural Arts Center.

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Additional Repertory

Kayala (2010)

In Kayala, Soledade uses an Afro-Brazilian
folktale as inspiration for the creation of the
work. The book How Night Came from the Sea,
an Afro-Brazilian folktale, told by Mary-Joan
Gerson sparked the choreographer’s interest to
draw ideas from some of the literary images in
order to explore the concepts of Night and Day,
and create a contemporary dance that is
appropriate to all ages. Fast paced, energetic
and intense movements are used to represent a
sense of Day while Night brings a calmer and
soothing aspect to the work. The contrast found
in Kayala makes the work dynamic,
entertaining, and a pleasant celebration of Afro-
Brazilian heritage.

Dreaming Amazonia (2009)

In Dreaming Amazonia, Augusto Soledade looks at the current state of the Amazon forest in Brazil
in order to understand it as a natural living environment for indigenous communities, and to
juxtapose it to the natural living environment for city dwellers creating choreography that is moving
and contemporary. The main objective of this new work is to represent, through dance, complex and
universal realities such as the urban
versus rural dichotomy, and the
potential for transformation as we
interact with each other, the world,
and our various living environments.

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Altars (2006)

In this work, Soledade considers and
abstracts aspects of the Afro-Brazilian
religion of Candomble in order to
comment on divine presence in religious
rituals and daily life. He juxtaposes his
Afro-Fusion aesthetic with the Cantatas
of Johann Sebastian Bach with the
intention of bringing together the
spiritual sense of two distinct worlds.

The Diaries of an Outlaw
(2004)

This work is inspired by the life of the
legendary outlaw Maria Bonita of Brazil.
The work investigates life as outlaws; the
intrinsic limits and pressures of motherhood
and love in such adverse environment. As in
much of Soledade’s repertory, the blend of
dance styles found in Diaries of an Outlaw
yields a work that is at once athletic and
nuanced, both percussive and fluid, as it
captures the rhythms of the outlaw life.

*All works copyright Augusto Soledade

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Stylish physicality: Brazz raises heat, global awareness at Alab... http://blog.al.com/entertainment_impact/print.html?entry=/2012...

Stylish physicality: Brazz raises heat, global awareness at
Alabama Dance Festival

Published: Saturday, January 28, 2012, 3:30 PM

Michael Huebner -- The Birmingham News
By

With hundreds of dancers and
choreographers buzzing around
Birmingham this weekend for the
Alabama Dance Festival, it was no
surprise Friday when Brazz Dance
Theater’s Augusto Soledade got a huge
response to his request for volunteers.

Brazz Dance Theater Soledade needed only 11 to take part as
spectators for “Cordel,” a full-length work
shown stage right after her routine was finished. that bridges hip-hop and tango. Dozens of
hands went up. Fifteen ended up
participating, including an impromptu floor
improv by one volunteer who was politely

“Cordel,” which draws inspiration from the commonality of BRAZZ DANCE THEATER
marginalization and social tensions in two contrasting dance styles,
showcases the Miami-based company’s stylish physicality. Set to an Wright Center, Samford University
acoustic and electronic score by Daniel Bernard Roumain, it wafts Presented by Alabama Dance
between high energy and sizzling passion, a pair of dancers turning Festival
Friday

up the heat on each. Although the social implications between the Four stars out of five
two dance genres were not entirely clear, the work served to show

off the skills of this small company (four dancers and

choreographer) and to introduce the Brazilian poetry of the work’s title.

Arms and legs at right angles, fluid lifts and turns and controlled muscularity propelled much of the dance.
They were augmented by the intertwining limbs and circular motions that suggested tango. Mood shifts were

1 of 2 2/4/12 5:22 PM

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Stylish physicality: Brazz raises heat, global awareness at Alab... http://blog.al.com/entertainment_impact/print.html?entry=/2012...

enhanced by red to blue lighting. Soledade’s vision of sponteneity played out not only with the seated
volunteers on stage, but with two Birmingham artists — the dancing of M.A.D. Skillz Dance Company director
Winston Strickland and visceral spoken word recitations (“It was the traveling that mattered”) by artist
Sharrif Simmons.

“Kayala,” which opened the program, was more evocative. Like “Cordel,” it is inspired from literature, in this
case an Afro-Brazilian folktale. Crawling, squirming bodies with twitching shoulders and vibrating legs set up
a continuous tension. Movement was balletic at times, tribal at others. A throbbing drum beat, contrasted by
the serenity of a rainstick and gentle echo of African yodeling, raised a geographical question. Where is this
from? The short answer is Miami. More broadly, Brazz and Soledade have extended their world to three
continents.

© 2012 al.com. All rights reserved.

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March 10, 2011 FRONT PAGE Circulation 222, 742

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We would like to thank the following organizations
for their continued support.

Augusto Soledade Brazzdance
P.O. BOX 655130, Miami, FL 33265
T: (786) 338.5488 E: [email protected]

www.brazzdance.com

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