Dancing between Pedagogy and Performance: Guerreiros do Passo and the Case of Brazilian Frevo. Issue 1 (2nd January 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Spanos, Kathleen A.; Bezerra, Amilcar Almeida
• Is Part Of: Dance chronicle. Volume 43:Issue 1(2020)
• Page Start: 3
• Page End: 31
• Publication Date: 2020-01-02
• Subjects: Frevo -- Brazilian dance -- tradition -- innovation -- dance pedagogy -- performance studies; Dance -- Periodicals; Dancing; 792.805
• DOI: 10.1080/01472526.2019.1708141
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0147-2526

Abstract

Abstract: Frevo dance comes from the cities of Recife and Olinda in the northeastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco. We expand on previous research by Valéria Vicente to apply Homi Bhabha's concepts of pedagogy and performativity to a study of how frevo dancers fight for multiplicity and individuality. We explore how the group Guerreiros do Passo (Frevo Dance Warriors) preserves and disseminates frevo through distinct teaching methods and performance projects, arguing that their work enables the performative enactment of popular memory and the subversion of frevo 's own official discourse. We examine how Guerreiros do Passo provides a new perspective on common challenges in dance pedagogy and performance, including the tensions between tradition/innovation and cultural/individual expression.