
Cia. Suave – In CRIA the different dances are performed by the kids, the teens, the adults, the men and women, by the cis and trans people that form company Suave. The dancers are all black, yet highly diverse. They propose a mash up of abilities and stories. They pulse to the beat and cross the stages as a living gallery of bodies and dances that can only originate in the unique melting pot called Rio. By taking these virtuous and super technical solo dances from their informal background and bringing them to the stage, Alice Ripoll succeeds in breaching our original expectations of how to organise – or dominate – the urban dance vocabulary within the codes of contemporary dance.
To create is a verb that in Portuguese, unlike in English, does not only mean ‘creating something’, but also ‘raising a child’. The word ‘cria’ refers to the object, the child, the thing that is created or raised. It refers to the act of creating itself as well.
CRIA is the result of a research about sexuality, family and parenthood, friendship and community. Countless dance forms are activated by the moving bodies of the Suave members: passinho, break dance, the freshly new dancinha, voguing, samba… they are all displayed as a collection of forms. It looks as if the act of creating those dances is dissected in its parts and reassembled every time.
The images that are evoked by CRIA tease our preconceptions about temporary dance and how it is presented on stage. They can be hard to absorb, but their force easily makes the audience feel strangely dislocated. At least, if they can resist the urge to applaud after each act of virtuosity.




Creation: Alice Ripoll
With: Tiobil Dançarino Brabo, Kinho JP, VN Dançarino Brabo, Nyandra Fernandes, May Eassy, Romulo Galvão, Sanderson Rei da Quebradeira, Thamires Candida, GB Dançarino Brabo, Ronald Sheik
Director’s assistant and sound technician: Alan Ferreira
Light design: Andréa Capella
Costumes: Raquel Theo
Musical direction: DJ Pop Andrade
Design: Caick Carvalho
Production: Rafael Fernandes
Photos and video: Renato Mangolin
Support: Centro Coreográfico da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro, Casa do Jongo, Rafael Machado Fisioterapia.
Diffusion: ART HAPPENS


Date | Performance | City Country | Organisation/Venue |
---|---|---|---|
21.05.2022 | CRIA | Saint-Brieuc (fr) | La Passerelle |
13.05.2022 | CRIA | Blois (fr) | Halle aux Grains – scène nationale de Blois |
11.05.2022 | CRIA | Orléans (fr) | Scène Nationale d'Orléans |
07.05.2022 | CRIA | Oslo (no) | Black Box Teater |
06.05.2022 | CRIA | Oslo (no) | Black Box Teater |
02.04.2022 | CRIA | New York (us) | BAM |
01.04.2022 | CRIA | New York (us) | BAM |
31.03.2022 | CRIA | New York (us) | BAM |
30.03.2022 | CRIA | New York (us) | BAM |
29.03.2022 | CRIA | New York (us) | BAM |
17.12.2021 | CRIA | Brest (fr) | Le Quartz |
16.12.2021 | CRIA | Brest (fr) | Le Quartz |
15.12.2021 | CRIA | Brest (fr) | Le Quartz |
11.12.2021 | CRIA | Rennes (fr) | Théâtre National de Brétagne |
10.12.2021 | CRIA | Rennes (fr) | Théâtre National de Brétagne |
09.12.2021 | CRIA | Rennes (fr) | Théâtre National de Brétagne |
08.12.2021 | CRIA | Rennes (fr) | Théâtre National de Brétagne |
30.11.2021 | CRIA (CANCELLED) | Montbéliard (fr) | MA Scène Nationale |
30.10.2021 | CRIA | Munich (de) | Theaterfestival Spielart |
29.10.2021 | CRIA | Munich (de) | Theaterfestival Spielart |
28.10.2021 | CRIA | Munich (de) | Theaterfestival Spielart |
23.02.2021 | CRIA (CANCELLED - Covid-19) | Montbéliard (fr) | MA Scène Nationale |
20.02.2021 | CRIA (CANCELLED - Covid-19) | Saint-Brieuc (fr) | La Passerelle |
18.02.2021 | CRIA (CANCELLED - Covid-19) | Orléans (fr) | Scène Nationale d'Orléans |
16.02.2021 | CRIA (CANCELLED - Covid-19) | Blois (fr) | Halle aux Grains – scène nationale de Blois |
12.02.2021 | CRIA (CANCELLED - Covid-19) | Reims (fr) | Le Manège de Reims |
11.02.2021 | CRIA (CANCELLED - Covid-19) | Reims (fr) | Le Manège de Reims |
03.02.2021 | CRIA (CANCELLED - Covid-19) | Forbach (fr) | Le Carreau Scène Nationale Forbach |
24.05.2020 | CRIA (CANCELLED - Covid-19) | Montreal (ca) | FTA |
23.05.2020 | CRIA (CANCELLED - Covid-19) | Montreal (ca) | FTA |
28.04.2020 | CRIA (CANCELLED - Covid-19) | Manchester (gb) | The Lowry |
24.03.2020 | CRIA (CANCELLED - Covid-19) | Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (fr) | Théâtre de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines |
21.03.2020 | CRIA (CANCELLED - Covid-19) | Rennes (fr) | Théâtre National de Brétagne |
20.03.2020 | CRIA (CANCELLED - Covid-19) | Rennes (fr) | Théâtre National de Brétagne |
19.03.2020 | CRIA (CANCELLED - Covid-19) | Rennes (fr) | Théâtre National de Brétagne |
18.03.2020 | CRIA (CANCELLED - Covid-19) | Rennes (fr) | Théâtre National de Brétagne |
14.03.2020 | CRIA (CANCELLED - Covid-19) | Oslo (no) | Black Box Teater |
13.03.2020 | CRIA (CANCELLED - Covid-19) | Oslo (no) | Black Box Teater |
19.12.2019 | CRIA | Leuven (be) | Kunstencentrum STUK |
18.12.2019 | CRIA | Leuven (be) | Kunstencentrum STUK |
16.12.2019 | CRIA | Douai (fr) | L'Hippodrome |
14.12.2019 | CRIA | Charleroi (be) | Charleroi danse |
12.12.2019 | CRIA | Paris (fr) | Parc de la Vilette |
11.12.2019 | CRIA | Paris (fr) | Parc de la Vilette |
10.12.2019 | CRIA | Paris (fr) | Parc de la Vilette |
07.12.2019 | CRIA | Ghent (be) | VIERNULVIER/Vooruit |
06.12.2019 | CRIA | Ghent (be) | VIERNULVIER/Vooruit |
03.12.2019 | CRIA | Turnhout (be) | De Warande |
01.12.2019 | CRIA | Waregem (be) | CC De Schakel |
29.11.2019 | CRIA | Koksijde (be) | Cultuurcentrum CasinoKoksijde |
26.11.2019 | CRIA | Cergy-Pontoise/Val d'Oise (fr) | Nouvelle Scène Nationale |
24.10.2019 | CRIA (Cancelled) | Beirut (lb) | Home Works Forum |
23.10.2019 | CRIA (Cancelled) | Beirut (lb) | Home Works Forum |
20.10.2019 | CRIA | Lorient (fr) | Le Théâtre de Lorient |
19.10.2019 | CRIA | Lorient (fr) | Le Théâtre de Lorient |
16.10.2019 | CRIA | Rotterdam (nl) | Theater Rotterdam |
12.10.2019 | CRIA | St. Médard-en-Jalles (fr) | Le Carré-Les Colonnes |
11.10.2019 | CRIA | St. Médard-en-Jalles (fr) | Le Carré-Les Colonnes |
09.10.2019 | CRIA | Strasbourg (fr) | POLE-SUD |
08.10.2019 | CRIA | Strasbourg (fr) | POLE-SUD |
23.06.2019 | CRIA | Polverigi (it) | Inteatro |
21.06.2019 | CRIA | Naples (it) | Napoli Teatro Festival Italia |
20.06.2019 | CRIA | Naples (it) | Napoli Teatro Festival Italia |
18.06.2019 | CRIA | Lille (fr) | Latitudes Contemporaines |
16.06.2019 | CRIA | Montreuil (fr) | Rencontres chorégraphiques internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis/L'Embarcadère |
15.06.2019 | CRIA | Montreuil (fr) | Rencontres chorégraphiques internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis/L'Embarcadère |
18.05.2019 | CRIA | Brussels (be) | Kunstenfestivaldesarts |
17.05.2019 | CRIA | Brussels (be) | Kunstenfestivaldesarts |
16.05.2019 | CRIA | Brussels (be) | Kunstenfestivaldesarts |
11.05.2019 | CRIA | Basel (ch) | Kaserne |
10.05.2019 | CRIA | Basel (ch) | Kaserne |
04.05.2019 | CRIA | Porto (pt) | Festival DDD - Dias da Dança/Teatro Municipal do Porto - Rivoli |
05.04.2019 | CRIA | Utrecht (nl) | Tweetakt Festival |
04.04.2019 | CRIA | Utrecht (nl) | Tweetakt Festival |
02.04.2019 | CRIA | Mainz (de) | Staatstheater Mainz |
01.04.2019 | CRIA | Mainz (de) | Staatstheater Mainz |