Bocarra: Performance by Luísa Saraiva

About this Event

Choreographer and dancer Luísa Saraiva will present her new performance “Bocarra” - a Portuguese expression for “big, open mouth, abyss” - for the first time in Berlin in December. Working with songs of violence, bitterness and foreignness, “Bocarra” is a choreographic exploration of sound and voice. Saraiva conceives of song as an expression of non-conformity and resistance against heteronormative role models, originating from the female singing traditions of North Portugal and Galicia. She develops an impressive choreography with performers Luisa Alfonso and Alexandre Achour, exploring the close proximity between violence and care which can be seen in self defence practices. An interplay is thus created wherein the body finds expression via the voice, which in turn forms and changes the body. Musical instruments especially developed for “Bocarra” appear as independent beings alongside the three performers. Activated by movements and gestures, they become an extension of the breath, the organs, and the whole body. Saraiva’s performance explores how sound and voice can be made audible and visible in a room, with and through the body.