In 2018, Davi Pontes and Wallace Ferreira joined forces to create a trilogy of choreographies centered on self-defense against physical, imaginary, and epistemological violence. "Repertório n.3," the final installment of this trilogy, premiered in December 2023 at the 35th São Paulo Biennial.
The "Repertório" trilogy seeks to deconstruct the concept of generalized violence and introduce new perspectives on understanding and portraying the experiences of marginalized groups. Drawing from postcolonial, gender, and race studies, this research challenges violence and strives to eradicate it.
Throughout the trilogy, Davi Pontes and Wallace Ferreira explore how the body, shaped by its experiences, develops the ability to defend itself. How can violence be portrayed without endorsing it? By bringing this choreographic repertoire of self-defense to life, the artists aim to stimulate thought and provoke discussion through physical expression—offering various strategies of resistance as a resilient and impactful way of existing in the world while inspiring imaginative possibilities.
CREDITS
Choreography and performance
Davi Pontes & Wallace Ferreira
Management and Distribution
Something Great
Co-commissioned by
35th São Paulo Biennial – Choreographies of the Impossible; Arsenic – Centre d’art scénique contemporain
Supported by
ImPulsTanz - Vienna International Dance Festival; Arsenic – Centre d’art scénique contemporain; Tanzhaus NRW; Kondenz Festival; La Becque.
BIOGRAPHIES
Davi Pontes is an artist, choreographer, and researcher. Graduated in arts from the Universidade Federal Fluminense and holds a Master’s degree in arts from the same institution. He studied at the Escola Superior de Música e Artes do Espectáculo ESMAE (Porto, Portugal). Since 2016, he has presented his work in art galleries and national and international festivals, mainly at the University of Pennsylvania (USA), My Wild Flag (Stockholm), Pivô (São Paulo), Centro Cultural de Belém (Lisbon), Rua das Gaivotas 6 (Porto), Bienal Sesc de Dança, MITsp – Mostra Internacional de Teatro de São Paulo, Les Urbaines festival (Switzerland), Galeria Vermelho (São Paulo), Valongo International Image Festival (São Paulo), Itaú Cultural Rumos Program 2021, Panorama Festival (Rio de Janeiro), 5th Itaú Cultural Dance Exhibition (São Paulo), Artfizz – HOA Gallery (USA), and residencies at ImPulsTanz 2022 [8:tension] Young Choreographers’ Series (Austria), La Becque (Switzerland), Pivô Art Research Program, MAM Rio Arts Research Residency Program, and Escola Livre de Artes – ELÃ among others. Awarded artist at ImPulsTanz – Young Choreographers’ Award, 2022 (Austria).
Wallace Ferreira is a choreographer, performer and visual artist. She graduated from the Escola Livre de Artes da Maré (ELÃ) and the Escola de Artes Visuais do Parque Lage. She is the winner of the ImPulsTanz – Young Choreographers’ Award 2022 and the FOCO ARTRIO Award 2024. Through interdisciplinary practices, her creations provoke ruptures between dance, performance, visual arts, and the study of images choreographed by dissident bodies, attempting to archive actions that elaborate resistance and summon ways of remaining in the world. Moved by the challenges of tensing the present, since 2018 she has presented her works in art galleries, national and international festivals. In collaboration with artist Davi Pontes, she develops the choreographic practice trilogy Repertório, which explores dance as a form of self-defence training. Within the Ballroom/Vogue culture, she holds the title of Legendary Mother of the Kiki House of Mamba Negra. She is also the director of the pieces ATRAQUE and Vogue Funk, creating spaces through practices that activate the body as a historical agent, repositioning naturalised codes in social spheres and articulating strategies to subvert established languages.