Choreography: Walson Botelho and José Carlos Arandiba
Afro-Religious Dance Research: José Ricardo Sousa
Music: from Candomblé rituals


Video: arshtcenter, 2017

In the 300 years following the colonization of Brazil by the Portuguese, more than 10 millions African slaves were brought to the new country. In order to maintain their own African identity and culture, many practiced the Yoruba religion, Candomblé, meaning a dance in honor of the Gods or Orixás.

· EXÚ: Orixá sent by Olorum, the Supreme God, to create the universe.
· PADÊ CEREMONY: Is an offering of food and drink to Exú, the feared messenger of Olorum, asking that the celebrants be allowed to make contact with the Orixás.
· YAÔ’S INITIATION: Celebrates the first public introduction of an initiate to the religion. Following a three-month period of seclusion, the Yaô is welcomed by the deities as they are incorporated in the order celebrant’s bodies.
· XIRÊ: Sequence of dances dedicated to the Orixás.
· ORIXÁ’S PANTHEON: Is a celebratory procession in which the Yoruba Gods pay homage to the new iniciate, revealing through their dances the special characteristics of their personalities:

. Ogum: God of iron and war.
. Oxum: Goddess of rivers, lakes, and waterfalls.
. Omolú: God of skin deseases, plague, and death.
. Iansã: Goddess of the winds and storms.
. Oxossi: God of the forests and hunters.
. Oxalá: Supreme God of the pantheon. Orixá’s father.