Brazz Dance Theater

Brazz Dance Theater is a dance company based in Miami, Florida that blends Afro-Brazilian and Contemporary dance. It was founded in 1998 by choreographer and dancer Augusto Soledade.

History

Founded in 1998, Brazz Dance Theater is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Augusto Soledade and dance partner Rachelle Zambito started the company in Rochester, New York. As a team, they spent sometime considering different names for the company. They started with Inside Out and ended up with Brazz Dance Theater.

Choreographer Bio

Augusto Soledade Augusto Soledade a native of Bahia, Brazil, is a performer, choreographer and currently serves as a full time dance teacher at Florida International University (FIU). In 1998, Mr. Soledade served as the Guest Artist in Dance at Smith College, Massachusetts, Guest Artist Instructor at Wells College, NY and adjunct instructor at University of Rochester. That is when he started the process of creating his own company, Brazz Dance Theater, with business partner Rachelle Zambito.

In 1999, Mr. Soledade became a Visiting Assitant Professor at the Dance Department at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor 1999-2000. He received his M.F.A in Dance from SUNY Brockport, where he was a teaching assistant for three years.

Mr. Soledade was a member of SANKOFA African Dance and Drum Ensemble and the assistant to the director and choreographer Clyde Alafiju Morgan, as well as a member of DANSCORE - Modern Dance touring company. He taught in Rochester City School District’s Artist-in-Residence program. He was an adjunct instructor at Monroe Community College as well as SUNY Morrisville.

Mr. Soledade received the 1998 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, Susannah Newman and James Payton. Garth Fagan, Founder/Artistic Director of Garth Fagan Dance, is quoted as saying that Augusto..."has a clear vision about dance relative to his views about the human experience. His inventive choreography reflects these views and visions with confidence.”

At the Federal University of Bahia, Mr. Soledade worked as an African-Brazilian dance teaching assistant and has won awards performing modern dance. He was invited to perform as a contestant for the First International Ballet and Modern Dance Competition in Japan, in 1992. He has performed extensively in Brazil. He has performed in Trinidad and Tobago and throughout New York State. Mr. Soledade also holds a degree in journalism from the Federal University of Bahia.

Mission

The mission of BRAZZ is to promote the production of dance as a form of art by bringing cultural and artistic awareness to the community through dance concerts, classes and workshops. Their focus is a fusion of Afro-Brazilian and Contemporary dance.

The objective of this non-profit 501(c)(3) organization is to function as a dance company. To provide a ground for the creation of dance works. To encourage its members to develop their dance teaching and performing skills. To be an active agent in the discussion of dance as a form of art, its philosophy, history and aesthetics.

BRAZZ offers master classes and workshops in Afro-Brazilian dance, modern dance with a contemporary fusion style, creative dance and drumming.

Grants

• 2008 Guggenheim Fellowship
• 2007 Dade Community Foundation Grant
• 2007 City of Homestead Grant
• 2007 Community Grant
• 2007 State of Florida Quarterly Assistance Grant
• 2007 Individual Artist Fellowship
• 2006 Artist Enhancement Grant
• 2006 Target Grant
• 2006 State of Florida ICE Grant
• 2005 Creative Capital Grant
• 2005 Community Grant
• 2005 Miami Dade Cultural Affairs Choreographer's Fellowship
• 2004 Northampton Arts Council Grant
• 2002 Northampton Arts Council Grant

Performances

Dreaming Amazonia, 2009 Season

The Miami Dance Festival and Brazz Dance Theater open the 2009 performance season with the premiere of an exciting and vibrant work Dreaming Amazonia presented at the Colony Theater in Miami Beach, April 10 and 11, 2009. In Dreaming Amazonia, Miami-based choreographer Augusto Soledade looks at the current state of the Amazon Rainforest 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 works main objective 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 various living environments.

Dreaming Amazonia gathers artists of various art forms and backgrounds. Choreographer Augusto Soledade is a native of Bahia, Brazil; in Music, Cuban-American composer Orlando Garcia created the original score to accompany the choreography; and Jacek Kolasinski the video artist from Poland contributed to the work through an installation at the performance site that echoes the strong transformation element present in the choreography.

The Miami Herald writer, Alicia Zuckerman wrote an article titled "Festival will be dancing around the issues" on March 31, 2009, which highlight the works of Dreaming Amazonia in the Miami Dance Festival.

Divertimento

Divertimento is a presentation scheduled for May 9, 2009, to show a series of company repertory works that are light and fun in character and attitude. These works echo the Afro-Brazilian personality.

Two Worlds

Two Worlds is a concert scheduled for June 5 and 6 (2009) that will bring together the work by two Miami-based choreographers Letty Bassart and Augusto Soledade. The evening of sharing distinct aesthetics, will exhibit their joint passion for dance.

Past Seasons

• A Foot for Samba
• Altars
• In Light of Rhythm
• The Diaries of An Outlaw

Details on Past Events

Educational Programs

ASIWAJU - Stepping Forward Educational Program

Program Synapsis

During the 2008-2009 season, Brazz Dance Theater continues to develop and expand its educational outreach program, ASIWAJU. ASIWAJU is a Yoruban word meaning “pioneer” or “the one who opens paths.” As the BRAZZ mission states, the aim is to promote the production of dance as a form of art by bringing cultural and artistic awareness to the community through dance concerts, classes and workshops. BRAZZ intends for the arts, particularly dance, to be a fun, inspiring, and even transformative experience in the participants lives. The ASIWAJU program is an avenue to start the process of opening pathways into the arts for students who may not otherwise have that opportunity.

The 08-09 ASIWAJU program has three components:

1. The first component, maintaining the work of ASIWAJU since 2006, will be continuing to teach Afro-Fusion dance technique in free dance classes held at community centers, after-school programs, and public schools. The workshops involves a 8-12 week residencies, or full school-year classes, with Brazz Dance Theater teachers instructing on Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Fusion technique, discuss Brazilian culture and history, and set repertory material. When possible, students perform the dance material learned in a culminating event for their peers, parents, and community. The focus is on offering classes to low-income students and communities.
2. The second component is to incorporate a literature element into the dance experience. Two versions of a Brazilian legend will be used to initiate discussion and exploration of the natural world and habitats. One version, "How Night Came to Be" references Native Brazilian culture; the other, "How Night Came from the Sea" is told from the Afro-Brazilian perspective. The distinct cultural focus of each version will guide discussion of the legend. Movement exploration of the themes in the legend is included in the ASIWAJU curriculum. This component links to the company's 08-09 performance season, which features the new work Dreaming Amazonia, a dance work that will present perspectives on deforestation in the Amazon, climate change, the interaction of indigenous communities and urban dwellers with their living environment, and the ways in which people have the potential to transform themselves and their surroundings.
3. The third component of the 08-09 ASIWAJU program will be the creation of a new work for Brazz Dance Theater’s repertory based on the legend mentioned above, “How Night Came to Be.” This new dance work will be performed by the company for culminating events of the ASIWAJU program, and other educational performances at local schools.

Impact on the Community

BRAZZ expects the project to building awareness of, and an appreciation for, dance that might not otherwise be available to these students. This project will have particular relevance to these students 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, the 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 in a diverse peer group.