Lecture: Orixás Dance: Afro-Brazilian Religion and Rituals by Newton Moraes

Iansã by Carybé

The Orixás Dance usually occurs in a church-type space, called terreiro. During these ceremonies we dance. In general, it is mostly for the underprivileged. Even before the abolition of slavery, this was a taboo form, but it is becoming much more open. I come from a lineage of Batuque that was called Cambinda. In Cambinda, when you’re dancing, you dance for the living but you also dance for the dead. So the dead we call eguns – a spirit of the dead person for whom we have great respect. Also, we arrange a table with all kinds of amazing food and things that this person loved, as well as a doll that represents the person. Then we start dancing counter-clockwise around the table. The drums are loose and strong and it can brings very powerful feelings. These feelings can generate in some Christians fear, because our rituals are misunderstood. Sometimes, is is considered evil simply because there is drumming.  However, the Candomblé is nothing more than a fusion of Christian and African divinities.


Date: Tuesday, October 6th
Time: 3:00pm
Local: TF 102 (Teefy Hall - 57 Queen's Park Crescent East)
Free Admission

Newton Moraes

Newton Moraes was born in Porto Alegre, Brazil. At an early age he started dancing samba, and then studied physical education at the Unisinos University in Porto Alegre. Later, he studied Afro-Brazilian dance, jazz and street dancing. In 1991, he moved to Toronto where he studied modern and contemporary dance in The School of Toronto Dance Theatre's Professional Training Program. Since his arrival in Canada in 1991, Moraes has choreographed more than fifty works, both for himself and other dancers. Moraes has collaborated with several choreographers, including Patrick Parson in "Orixás Voice" (2003) and "Dancing Spirits" (2004) created for the Ballet Creole. In 1997, he founded Newton Moraes Dance Theatre, which has toured in Brazil, Colombia, the U.S. and Germany. Some of Moraes' mentors include Jean Sasportes, Fred Traugth, David Earle, Patricia Beatty, Danny Grossman, Patrick Parson, Marcelo do Nascimento and José do Nascimento (Brazil). Moraes was a board member of Dance Ontario for more than six years and is a member of the Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists (C.A.D.A.).

Further Readings:
Faith and Freedom [African heritage of Brazil] by Robert W. Shirley
Umbanda by Peter Fry