Ìpàdé with Maestra Iara Deodoro: memories from the Afro-Sul Group, a piece of Africa in the South of Brazil

Abstract

This paper follows the journey of the Black artist Maria Iara Santos Deodoro and her artistic-pedagogical work with the Afro-Sul Music and Dance Group. It also reflects and contextualizes certain events and topics in the debate on ethnic-racial relations concerning the Performing Arts in southern Brazil and further exchanges. Corporeality, orality, and musicality intertwined with dance are discussed as Afro-oriented perspectives practiced by the Afro-Sul Group in the fight against racism.

Keywords

• Maestra Iara Deodoro
• Afro-Gaúcha dance
• Dance History
• Ethnic-Racial Relations
• Rio Grande do Sul.