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A group of Brazilian dancers, men and women, wear clothes with red and animal print patterns. They are on stage and a female dancer is mid-air as if just thrown by the male dancers.

Encantado

5 - 10 January 2024

In the Drama Theatre

Dance

The celebrated Brazilian choreographer Lia Rodrigues summons healing spirits in a jubilant dance work designed to re-enchant the world.

… nothing short of miraculous ... the group swept the audience up with irresistible force.

The Financial Times

A jubilant dance work from Brazil

In Brazil, the word encantado refers to the object of an enchantment or a spell. Then there are the encantados, the enchanted ones, spirits that move between heaven and earth.

But now that human action threatens life on Earth, what will become of the encantados? Emerging onto a stage decked in a vibrant patchwork, 11 dancers transform 140 colourful blankets into shape-shifting costumes and personas in Encantado, a wild celebration of nature and our place in it.  

Inspired by the very real environmental and spiritual struggles experienced in today’s Brazil, Encantado asks: How can we become close to each other and to the world we are part of once again? 

The enchanted and disenchanted move in endless dance, as Encantado builds from stillness to a joyous crescendo of freedom. 

Presented by Sydney Festival with Lia Rodrigues Companhia de Danças

Three caramel-skinned female dancers are mid-dance move. They wear towel-looking headpieces and have colourful patterned skirts.

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