Portland Ovations Presents Brazil's Balé Folclórico da Bahia 1/19

Portland Ovations presents the thrilling choreography, joyous rhythms and sensual exuberance of Balé Folclórico da Bahia on Wednesday, January 19th at Merrill Auditorium. This cultural presentation highlighting the rich heritage and traditions of the northeastern Brazilian State of Bahia begins at 7:30 p.m.

Balé Folclórico da Bahia is a prodigious 38-member troupe of dancers, singers, drummers and instrumentalists that showcases the Afro-Brazilian cultural traditions of Bahia, Brazil. The traditional music and dance of the region is heavily influenced by African culture as a result of the slave trade. Balé Folclórico da Bahia combines elements of slave dances, samba de roda, the martial art form of capoeira, and Carnival traditions into a spectacle of sound, movement and colorful costumes.

The centerpiece of the evening's performance, Sacred Heritage, is a work rooted in the Afro-Brazilian spirituality known as Candomblé, a belief system derived from the Yoruba religion, brought to Brazil by African slaves. The work was created to celebrate Balé Folclórico da Bahia's 20th anniversary and is being performed in the United States for the first time on this tour.

This presentation of Balé Folclórico da Bahia is sponsored by Gorham Savings Bank and is made possible, in part, by support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New England Foundation for the Arts.

Tickets for Balé Folclórico da Bahia range from $40 to $29 for Ovations' Members, $44 to $32 for the general public, and a limited number of $15 tickets for full-time college and grade school students are also available. Visit www.portlandovations.org or call PortTix at 207.824.0800 for more information or to purchase tickets.

In addition to the evening performance, a condensed performance at 10:30 a.m. on January 19th is available to groups of middle and high school students as part of Portland Ovations' education and outreach initiative. This presentation enhances Maine curriculum standards in the areas of world languages, social studies, and visual and performing arts. Home-schooled children are also eligible to attend. Parents or teachers interested in more information about this performance should contact the Director of Ovations Offstage, Gretchen Berg, at 207.773.3150 or at gberg@portlandovations.org. Tickets for this school-time performance are $7 per person.

Ovations Offstage is offering a free pre-performance lecture from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on January 19th in Merrill Auditorium's rehearsal hall. The lecture, Capoeira: From Africa to Brazil to Maine, is presented by Portland's own capoeira Mestre Joao Bordallo. Bordallo discusses the religious, historical and contemporary vitality of the martial art created in Brazil by African slaves over 400 years ago. Bordallo's students demonstrate capoeira techniques.

A capoeira workshop is also being offered by Ovations Offstage on Tuesday, January 18th from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m at the Portland Arts and Technology High School. During this masterclass, dancers from Balé Folclórico da Bahia lead participants through a combination of capoeira, music and movement. Interested parties at all levels of experience are invited to participate. Reservations are available at $25 per person and can be made by contacting Gretchen Berg at 207.773.3150 or at gberg@portlandovations.org.

Ovations Offstage activities are made possible, in part, with support form Jane's Trust and the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation. The pre-performance lecture is funded, in part, by a joint grant from the Maine Humanities Council and Maine Arts Commission.

For high resolution photography of Balé Folclórico da Bahia, please visit the press link at the top of the Portland Ovations' website: www.portlandovations.org. For more information, or to watch video of some of the pieces being performed by Balé Folclórico da Bahia, visit their website at www.balefolcloricodabahia.com.br.

 

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