KO Review of Ziriguidum
Decidedly Jazz Danceworks welcomes Cia Vata from Brazil to share the stage for the performance Ziriguidum.
Ziriguidum (Zee – Ree – Ghee – Doom) is a Brazilian Portuguese word meaning ones panache or mojo, with a strong African tone that expresses the sounds of drums and other percussion instruments used in Samba and Carnival music. This international collaboration is an original creation that has been born out of the Brazil Project, a multi-year research and creation project comprised of a succession of cross-cultural collaborative events, culminating in a major dance and music creation that will tour Canada and Brazil in 2016/17.
I love jazz music!!! It brings me back to my early 20’s in Chicago at Pops for Champagne, sipping bubbles and chilling…DJD brought me back to that place in my heart with their half of the Ziriguidum performance. Every cell in my body was gyrating with their “cool slips in like a snake in the grass, heat rises…”. What a sexually charged performance in such subtlety suggestive ways. I would get goose bumps, I just wanted to jump out of my seat and throw my “jazz” hands up! (Just like that little boov “o” in the Home movie). Wow! I enjoyed this so so so much!
I had the pleasure of hearing Kimberley Cooper, DJD’s artistic Director talk about the performance: “The aesthetic of the cool is a deeply and complexly motivated, consciously artistic interweaving of elements serious and pleasurable, of responsibility and play”. This late 50’s early 60’s influenced of style, spanning over decades, slick, polished and becomes timeless. The fashion for DJD’s performance consisted of cool, dark colors, fans that doubled as masks with an African influence in printed patterns. The concept of this composure, aloofness, clean-cut keeping-it-togetherness. The vibe of Miles Davis “The Birth of Cool” or “The Kind of Blue”. The performance involved a great roller coaster ride of energy (and heat) bebopping fast and furious the slowing it down right to the ground, or being fanned off to cool and eventually by water. Water carried the DJD performance to Cia Vata’s perfoamce where water was the central theme…
Cia Vata’s roots are in northeastern Brazil. Their culture comes from the essence of that region which is dry desert. The people of this region are cattle ranchers with deep portuguese and african influence. There is a constant stirring of dust and hope for water. Prayers for rain. The rhythm of their performance is drums and tap. They use fiddles, flutes, accordion, drums and vocal interchangeably amongst them. They incorporate clowning, knife dancing, capoeira and interpretive movements completely unique to their performance. Valeria Pinheiro is not only the lead performer of Cia Vata, but also the choreographer and artistic director. Her vocals and movements lead the group as a maternal figure. There is a dance to Otune, the diety of lost children, where they chant and conduct a procession around the stage. The performance has many individual performances going on at once, but they compliment each other so well it stirs the energy from within the audience. Cia Vata danced right off the stage through the audience at the end of their performance, and it felt like everybody wanted to join in with them clapping and cheering.
Ziriguidum made for such a spectacular evening with a vibe that transports you mentally from a jazz bar in Chicago right to feeling like you are in the middle of Carnival in Brazil.
There are only 4 shows lefts including the April 30/15 ZIRIGUIDUM SPRING GALA event- A chance to have a special night out with wine, food, and the best seats in the house for the performance of Ziriguidum. This unique experience delivers a complete night out for only $125.
(Ziriguidum is on April 29- May 2, 2015) Buy tickets HERE or at Theatre Junction Grand (608 1 St SW, Calgary, AB)
