English version
ABOUT THE ARTIST
André Luiz Santos da Silva (aka André Silva Bern) was born in Rio de Janeiro, on 11th September, 1978. He graduated in Dance, from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro). For this occasion, he presented a 40-min choreography, entitled Fugacidades (Transitory), in which he already expressed his interest in gesture and identity.
While still being an undergraduate, he took lessons with renowned Brazilian choreographers, such as Márcia Milhazes, João Saldanha and Lia Rodrigues, not to mention his participation in Por Um Fio de Memória (Thread of Memory), with the university’s dance company. Besides, he joined performer Rubens Barbot and his dance-theatre company in five of his creations, namely Em Pleno Meio-Dia de Nossa Noite (In Bright Daylight of Our Night), Tempo De Espera (Time To Wait), Uma Festa Sankofa (Sankofa Party), Esse Amor Que Nos Consome (Burning Love), Você É Um Canalha (You’re An Asshole), in addition to a carnival parade performance with samba school Acadêmicos do Salgueiro.
In the beginning of 2007, he started having classes with choreographer Esther Weitzman, whose piece Territórios (Territories) had been previously awarded Choreography of the Year by newspaper O Globo. During the course of the same year, he was invited by Weitzman to go into rehearsal with her dance company for a further staging of Territórios.
Additionally, he attended her workshop Dança e Criação (Dance and Creation) at her own studio. On December 2007, he took a course with Weitzman and dance critic Roberto Pereira, Investigações Coreográficas (Choreographic Investigations), when he began working on his current project, Aresta.
Since then, he has developed an artistic partnership – Expedição Corpo (Body Expedition) – with dancer Luisa Coser, as well as with actresses Veronica Diaz and Angela Delphim.
In 2008, he took part in Jogo Coreográfico (Choreographic Game), project by his former college tutor Lígia Tourinho, awarded with Prêmio Klauss Vianna – FUNARTE (Klauss Vianna Award – National Fund for the Arts); presented a performance, Amores (Lovers), at Casa de Cultura de Nova Friburgo, in the mountainside of Rio de Janeiro; and joined Vera Maeder and Jacob Langaa-Sennek in their hello!earth residency, which resulted in a site-specific work staged at Panorama Festival.
In 2009, André joined coLABoratório, a 6-month residency programme organised by Panorama Festival; became a resident artist at Centro Coreográfico do Rio de Janeiro; co-created and performed tomorrow everything will be different for the Metropolis Festival (Copenhagen, Denmark), due to an invitation by Vera Maeder. Also, showed installation the jockey at the Panorama de Dança Festival.
For the occasion of the end of his residency period at the Centro Coreográfico do Rio de Janeiro, André gave a workshop on creative tools he developed throughout 2009 in partnership with Salvadorean artist Didine Ángel (Body: residence of discomfort); and performed joão-de-barro, his 40-min. newest piece.
REFERENCE LETTERS
I have known André Silva Bern since 2004, when he was an undergraduate student from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – Bachelor of Arts in Dance. He studied the “Families of Dance” subject, which I taught at that time, and always showed a great deal of respect and responsibility for its activities. As an undergraduate Dance student, he demonstrated ability towards the artistic practice as well as the reflection upon dance.
In 2008, I had the opportunity to meet André Silva Bern on the professional circuit. I selected a group of 14 dancers in the city of Rio de Janeiro so as to stage the “Jogo Coreográfico” performance. André Silva Bern was one of the dancers chosen from among 50 others. That performance belonged to a program of choreographic residencies after being awarded the Klauss Vianna Prize – National Incentive to Dance – by FUNARTE (National Arts Foundation) and sponsored by Petrobras (Petroleum of Brazil). André Silva Bern proved to be a talented and responsible artist, committed to excellence. I have no hesitation in recommending him to take part in artistic, theoretical and pedagogic activities in the field of dance and performing arts.
I am writing this brief letter in order to attempt to summarize who André Silva Bern is to me.
We have known each other for about 2 years, when he became interested in taking lessons in my studio. After some weeks, I was particularly impressed by his friendliness and unwavering drive to dance and create dances. Time went by, and at the end of 2007, while running a workshop on creation in dance along with critic Roberto Pereira, I could explore André Silva Bern’s universe. What I must highlight here is his striking creativity and genuine interest in learning and developing his own artistic style.
André Silva Bern also took part in some rehearsals for a choreographic piece I staged last year (“Territórios”). This was another moment when I noticed that he wishes to create, express himself through art, more than just dance.
Moreover, I would like to underline his great level of artistic knowledge. Following the initial steps of an artist whose cultural and human value is so high is quite rewarding – especially if you are in the position of a well-established artist I am.
To me, André Silva Bern has a brilliant future in store.
Esther Weitzman – choreographer and professor at UniverCidade
In 2008, hello!earth was doing a 4-week residency production at the Panorama festival in Rio de Janeiro, including 3 performance days. André Bern was a collaborating artist in this project – a site specific work based on the concept ”The Invisible Reality Show”.
André showed a strong engagement and curiosity in the work, and contributed with progressive questions on artistic aspects as well as the context we placed the work in, that were driving the process further and giving impulses to the whole team. His ideas contributed vitally to the making of the performance, and he showed to be a strong individual, aware of his artistic means and process. At the same time his capacity to work in a group, collaborate and inspire others was tremendous.
His artistic inputs were multi-layered and complex, and he showed a serious and differentiated reflection about the work that we were doing. His reflections encompassed a wide range of knowledge and reference points within the field.
As an artist, he is very aware of his point of departure, eager to explore and ready to venture into unknown territories, as unknown for himself as for a possible audience. I see him making contributions within the field of art that are innovative, done with a lot of care, sensitivity and persistency. Works that are surprising in their way of combining information and backgrounds, never imitating anything, but inspired by his wide perspective, his very own response and creation.
André is a very good and enchanting communicator. With ease and elegance he brings any idea across – no matter to whom. His English is fluent and excellent, and encompasses a range of vocabulary that allows for very differentiated conversations on any topic.
Vera Maeder – performance artist and director of hello!earth platform
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