Winter Festival Program UFMG & ICA22
July 23 (Sunday)
8:00 PM – REVIDE VERSO, songs and pamphlet-poems, by Ricardo Aleixo
Ricardo Aleixo’s new intermedia work is based on the poems and songs that the artist from Minas Gerais has composed over the past three decades, always from the concept of “active resistance,” from which an indissociable poetics of ethics and the attempt to raise questions related to the troubled present time emerges. With special performances by guitarist Alvimar Liberato and performer Natália Alves, the show Revide verso – songs and pamphlet-poems revisits the most overtly political portion of Aleixo’s work. Among the songs, highlights include “Positivismo,” with a melody by Gilvan de Oliveira, which establishes a parallel between the destruction of the Canudos settlement and the founding of Belo Horizonte in 1897 (“The Republic ended/ with Canudos, Belo Monte,/ and to avoid suspicion/ invented Belo Horizonte”) and “Aconteceu maravia,” a text and music by Aleixo dedicated to the thinker Ailton Krenak.
Ricardo Aleixo – intermedia artist and researcher of literature, other arts, and media, received the title of “Notório Saber” (Notable Knowledge), equivalent to a doctoral degree, from UFMG in 2021. He has 18 published books, including notable works such as Modelos vivos (Ed. Crisálida, 2010), Extraquadro (Ed. Impressões de Minas/LIRA, 2021 – one of the 5 finalists of the Jabuti Prize 2022), Sonhei com o anjo da guarda o resto da noite (Todavia, 2022), and Campo Alegre (Conceito Editorial, col. BH – A Cidade de Cada Um, 2022). His works blend poetry, fictional prose, philosophy, ethnopoetics, anthropology, history, music, radio art, visual arts, video, dance, theater, performance, and urban studies. He has performed in almost all Brazilian states and in the following countries: Argentina, Germany, Portugal, USA, Spain, Mexico, France, Switzerland, and Angola. His works are exhibited in the permanent exhibitions Rua da Língua and Falares (Museum of the Portuguese Language/SP).
Location: UFMG Conservatory
Duration: 1 hour
July 24 (Monday)
7:00 PM – Galanga Chico Rei, by Maurício Tizumba
Actor, musician, and congadeiro Maurício Tizumba revives the sound of congado with original compositions by Paulo César Pinheiro in a performance that depicts the fabulous life story of Chico, the king of a tribe from Congo who is brought to Brazil as a slave and becomes a hero. The presentation utilizes congada and dramatic dance, traditional in various Brazilian states, particularly in Minas Gerais. These rituals are dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, the traditional protector of Black people in Brazil, as well as several Black saints, especially Saint Benedict and Saint Efigenia. Galanga Chico Rei revisits the traditional history of our country and our culture from the perspective of Afro-Brazilian identity.
Maurício Tizumba – actor, composer, singer, multi-instrumentalist, musical director, and congado captain. Throughout his artistic career (which began when he was still a child on the now-defunct TV Itacolomi), he has established a dialogue between various languages, primarily art and the traditional popular expressions of Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Mineiran culture. A graduate of UFMG’s University Theater, he has worked in film, TV, and theater, participating in 28 productions, 25 of which were musicals.
Location: UFMG Cultural Center Auditorium
Duration: 1 hour
July 25 (Tuesday)
7:00 PM – Sound Pieces
Artist/Group: O Grivo e Thembi Rosa
Synopsis: Sound Pieces establishes connections between the sound objects of O Grivo and choreographer/dancer Thembi Rosa. This research has been conducted in partnership since 2000 in various configurations: performances, choreographic sound installations, and videos. In this intervention, sounds, objects, and movements intertwine without hierarchies. It is a blend composed of open scores, improvisation, and listening, in each moment.
O Grivo – In the late 1990s, O Grivo performed their first concert in Belo Horizonte, beginning their research in the field of “New Music.” Interested in expanding their sonic universe and discovering different ways of organizing their improvisations, the group has developed its musical language. In pursuit of “new” sounds and different possibilities of orchestration and composition, O Grivo works with the exploration of acoustic and electronic sound sources, the construction of “sound machines and mechanisms,” and the unconventional use of traditional musical instruments. As a result of this research, which involves various objects and materials, the importance of visual information and its organization in the group’s compositions grows. Additionally, there is an ongoing dialogue with cinema, video, theater, and dance. In their installations/concerts, the intersection and border space between visual and sonic information are where concepts such as texture, spatial organization, overlay, perspective, density, speed, repetition, fragmentation, and more are constructed. The main ideas behind the group’s work are the proposition of a state of curiosity and contemplative disposition for listening and discussing the relationships between sounds and space. Their works have been presented at institutions such as MOMA SF, the 28th São Paulo Biennial, Sesc SP, Nara Roesler Gallery, MAR (RJ), Multiplicidade, Gijón (Spain), among others.
Thembi Rosa – artist, researcher, and certified Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis teacher. She holds a Ph.D. in Arts from EBA/UFMG, a master’s degree in dance from PPG–Dança at UFBA, and a bachelor’s degree in Literature from UFMG. She is part of CasaManga_BH, Dança Multiplex, and the Performance & Cognition Research Group at ICNOVA in Lisbon. Her research is related to the investigation of interfaces and digital archives, urban interventions, and the interaction between movements, sounds, and images. She has produced several artistic residencies in Brazil and abroad, including Parquear Bando (in various cities in Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, and Portugal), Impermanence (2022/2023 – Paris, Fortaleza, BH), Motion Bank Lab Brazil (2019), CCL 7, Choreographic Coding Lab (2016), Interferencias (2013), among others.
Location: 1st floor of the Faculty of Philosophy and Human Sciences (Fafich), in front of the Sônia Viegas Auditorium
Duration: 30 minutes
July 26 (Wednesday)
1:00 PM – Spiral of Death Performance, by Uýra
What can we learn from ants about the diversity of life and the history of indigenous peoples in the world? Spiral of Death addresses and intersects two biological phenomena and two sociocultural phenomena in Brazil. The performance premiered in 2022 at the 8th edition of MITsp – International Theater Festival of São Paulo, curated by @dodileal. It has been presented at the Center for Art, Research and Alliances in New York (USA) and The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery in Toronto (CA). The second time it was presented in Brazil was in 2022 at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, during the opening of Uýra’s solo exhibition: Aqui Estamos (Here We Are).
Uýra – indigenous person from the Central Amazon. A biologist with a master’s degree in Ecology, Uýra works as a visual artist, art educator, and researcher. She lives in Manaus, an industrial territory in the middle of the forest, where she transforms herself to become a walking tree. She was a highlight of the 34th São Paulo Biennial, the Manifesta Biennial, and the winner of the PIPA Prize 2022. Uýra uses the body as a platform to narrate stories of different natures through photo performances, performances, and installations. Drawing inspiration from the City-Forest landscape, she is interested in living systems and their violations, with a focus on the diversity, resistance, and memory of the indigenous diaspora. Her works are included in the collections of institutions such as the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (USA), and the Castello Di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art (Italy).
Location: UFMG Services Square
Duration: 40 minutes
7:00 PM – SOPAPO Performance
An interactive performative act inspired by the vibration of the drum skin as a reverberation of life.
Rui Moreira – dancer, choreographer, and dance professor, graduated from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. He conducts research on the performing arts, with a primary focus on dialogue involving bodies, cultures, and memories. He has worked as a dancer and choreographer in renowned Brazilian companies. He currently serves as the director of the Department of Performing Arts at Funarte.
Location: 1st floor of the Faculty of Philosophy and Human Sciences (Fafich), in front of the Sônia Viegas Auditorium
Duration: 20 minutes
8:00 PM – Final Session (Jazz a Três Group)
Jazz a Três is formed by musicians Anderson Araújo, Ivan Resende, and Felipe Amorim. The trio began their activities in 2008, focusing on a repertoire of jazz standards and Brazilian music with the aim of creating an approachable connection between the genre and the audience, popularizing instrumental music. A standard is a widely known jazz theme or song that becomes part of the basic repertoire of many jazz musicians.
Ivan Resende – guitarist, professional musician, has been part of rock and blues bands. Currently, he is dedicated to instrumental music and jazz.
Anderson Araújo – bassist and arranger, with a diverse musical background spanning various styles. He has participated in groups, orchestras, and bands of different musical genres ranging from classical to popular.
Luiz Moreira – drummer, musician, luthier, and teacher. He has been working as a professional for over two decades. He graduated from Bituca (University of Popular Music) in the city of Barbacena, MG. Currently, he continues his studies with drummer Lincoln Cheib.
Location: Courtyard of UFMG Cultural Center
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
