AVATARA

Duda Paiva Company makes performances in which dance and puppets are central. Associative, narrative performances – usually without text – that are performed in theatres, at festivals, indoor and outdoor locations, in the Netherlands and internationally. Performances in which people with different backgrounds, ages and preferences can recognize themselves.

Our home port is Amersfoort. In the Laswerkplaats we develop our projects and are the first show moments. In the city we work together with urban cultural organizations and makers.

In the Netherlands, but also internationally, it is our ambition to make broad use of working with dance and puppets; as a full-fledged, theatrical instrument, transcending discipline, not bound by boundaries or fitting into boxes. Every year our productions cross the border, into the world on their way to encounters with an unknown audience and unknown makers. For example, with the production 'Blind' we managed to make a trip from Melbourne to Wuzhen, from New York to Tokyo.

He feels it in the tips of his fingers, the little tingle when he concentrates. The people next to him at the subway station have no idea, but he knows what it means. He knows what will happen if he lets it go. At first glance he is an ordinary boy, but there is something abnormal, something supernatural in him. And it waits impatiently to wake up…

Alter egos, demigods and supernatural powers are as old as stories themselves. In myths, comics and films we meet superheroes, werewolves and sons of the gods who manage to stimulate our imagination in a wonderful way. There is something hidden in every creature, something no one has yet seen. Who are you when no one is watching?

But even beyond imaginative stories, we seem to be increasingly believing in an alternative identity. From your profile picture to your carefully curated character in a game, they're all avatars.

In this compelling performance, in which dancers and foam sculptures merge into adventurous characters, master puppeteer Duda Paiva and acclaimed choreographer Shailesh Bahoran tell the story of the breath of life. Because where does this magic actually start? Do gods breathe life into humans or is it man who creates gods

Together we discover that new encounters can lead to something more than an addition, a collision of existing elements that generates enough power to breathe life into something that did not yet exist.

---

Credits
Concept and direction: Shailesh Bahoran & Duda Paiva
Choreography: Shailesh Bahoran and Duda Paiva in collaboration with the dancers
Puppets: Duda Paiva & Cat Smits
Dancers: Simon Bus, Balder Hansen, Yordana Rodriguez, Marchano Sarijoen, Ser Sebico & Yashasvi Shrotriya
Lighting design: Mike den Ottolander
Composition: Wilco Alkema & Rik Ronner
Costumes: Evita Rigert
Outside eye: Kim Kooiman
Impresario: Frontaal
Photo credit: Shueti

---

The visit of AVATARA in Sofia is realized with the support of the Netherlands Embassy in Bulgaria.