ColetivA Ocupação / Martha Kiss Perrone

ColectivA Ocupação takes possession of a space so as to heighten a struggle. Set right in the middle of the audience, the performers mobilise dance, song and music in a delightful piece in which the energy of anger is rivalled by a youthful outburst. Quando Quebra Queima is a yell, that of a generation which knows it’s been sacrificed, from a population that realises it’s been scorned and can’t get over it. As an extension of the student riots in 2015 in Brazil, this collective has built up a dramaturgy based on an occupation that brings back to life memories of barricades, banners and slogans, which are here screamed out in joy. Going from an uprising to a party, Quando Quebra Queima (When Breaks Burn) stands as a creative response to the social violence of today’s Brazilian society, to the processes of declassification and to the repressive arsenal this presupposes. With a desire for self-expression as their sole driving force, they occupy the stage just as they also defended their territory: with passion, power and determination.

ColetivA Ocupação was set up in the context of the massive student demonstrations in 2015, after the decision of the governor of São Paulo to close around a hundred schools in working-class neighbourhoods. Made up of sixteen artists and militants, studying in various neighbourhoods in São Paulo, the group approaches today’s political events through performances mingling art, activism and education, while seeking out new scripts and new dramaturgies.