“Our secret is to try to get all of the good things out of the different styles of dance and use that to create a new dance,” said Compagnie Käfig dancer Diego Alves Dos Santos, known professionally as Dieguinho.
The high-impact physical demands of Capoeira, the rhythm of Samba, the energy of House and the swag of street dance will find common ground next weekend at the Touhill, thanks to Compagnie Käfig.
Dance St. Louis will host the troupe that is essentially a choreographed cultural melting pot that fuses some of the most physically demanding dance styles with the hopes of taking the audience’s breath away.
The very existence of the company is a demonstration of the global reach and penetration of the hip-hop generation.
Compagnie Käfig is the brainchild of Mourad Merzouki, a native of Lyon, France, who studied martial arts and circus arts as a child and was influenced by hip-hop as a teen.
For nearly 20 years the troupe has remixed hip-hop dance with influences that range from Bollywood, Russian dance and contemporary dance to Merzouki’s own expertise in circus and martial arts.
Its current incarnation features mostly Brazilian dancers, including Dieguinho.
“We constantly want to bring new things and new ideas to our dance, so we pick things up from other places along the way,” Dieguinho said. “For example, we traveled to Arab countries and we are going to incorporate some of the style they bring to their dance into our dance.”
He has been with the company for 12 years and was introduced to hip-hop as a youngster in his native Rio de Janeiro.
When he was nine years old, a teacher came to his class to talk about hip-hop and its signature dance style, which includes popping, breaking and locking.
“I tried it in that class, and instantly I was hooked,” Dieguinho said. “Even as a child I was trying to dance with passion and emotion, and I fall in love with it all over again every time I do these dances.”
As the troupe uses hip-hop as a platform to connect cultures and styles, Dieguinho hopes to express his love for them all.
“When I dance I feel good because it’s something that I love – and I try to pass that to other people from the stage,” Dieguinho said. “It’s like we are communicating without language. I’m speaking to people just with my dance and my attitude.”
He wants audiences to go beyond hearing what he hopes to translate with his particular set of routines and take it upon themselves to get all the way into his groove.
“I try to bring the other person into the dance with me and make them want to get out of their seat,” Dieguinho said. “Making that connection is what I love most about dancing.”
In addition to blending styles of dance, the music they perform is as diverse as the movements.
“We are using our bodies and our style to take the best of the many parts of dance and music to create something fresh and exciting out of it,” Dieguinho said. “I want that synergy to come across. And hopefully people will love it.”
Through their dance, he hopes that the notion of a globalized sense of cultural awareness and curiosity will give audiences the courage to expand their sense of possibility.
“I want people to know that you can blend different things if you have a good energy inside of you,” Dieguinho said. “You can do whatever you want. And if you have a good energy inside, you can make things so much better – and anything is possible.”
Dance St. Louis will present Compagnie Käfig on Saturday April 24-25 at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the campus of UMSL. For more information, visit www.dancestlouis.org, www.touhill.org or call (314) 534-6622.
