Draft:Ana Pi

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Ana Pi (born in 1986, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil) is a choreographer, image artist, "extemporaneous" dancer, pedagogue, writer, and space creator. Working from France, she navigates the world through the regenerative layers and radical imagination of the African Diaspora. Known for her research and practice related to ancestral and peripheral dance forms, Ana Pi's work focuses on the relationship between transit and belonging, with themes such as regeneration, groove, sacred gestures, futurity, and Afro-diasporic imagination. Pi uses dance and choreography as tools for political and poetic creation and cultural recodification, often addressing the complexities of the encounter between tradition and experimentation. She is the artistic director of NA MATA LAB.

Education

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Ana Pi began her formal dance studies at the Palácio das Artes in Belo Horizonte, where she practiced classical ballet and modern dance, Graham technique. Pi later pursued her undergraduate studies in dance at the Federal University of Bahia (2005–2009), where she began exploring the intersections of dance and video, politics, and Afro-Brazilian artistic traditions, and wrote *Videodançar: um verbo possível. Proposta Metodológica para o Ensino da Videodança*. In 2009, Ana Pi joined the EX.E.R.CE program at the Centre Chorégraphique National in Montpellier, France. There, she expanded her practice, studying contemporary choreography and image systems with artists such as Lisa Nelson and Charles Atlas. Over the years, she experimented with techniques and traditions ranging from Capoeira Angola, Tap Dance, House Dance, among many others.

Awards and Recognitions

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Ana Pi's work has been recognized by several prestigious institutions, including:

  • Revelation in Dance Prize (2018), Cooperativa Paulista de Dança, São Paulo, Brazil[1]
  • Best Brazilian Short Film (2018), FestCURTAS BH and Panorama Janela de Cinema[2]
  • Ecumenical Prize (2018), Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen 65th Festival, Germany[3]
  • Artist Fellow (2020), Latin America Program, MoMA and Cisneros Institute, New York, USA[4]
  • Artist Fellow (2024), AMANT Brooklyn, New York, USA[5]

Artistic Practice and Materials

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Ana Pi's practices are interwoven through the act of traveling, investigating the gestures and movements transmitted by traditions and transmuted through distinct landscapes and borders, software programs, and politics[6]. Her work simultaneously engages living bodies and archives, learning the philosophies and the potential for "futurity" of these complex choreographies. Through this commitment, Ana Pi generates new systems of permanence in her transdisciplinary work, positioning herself between the notions of transit, displacement, belonging, superposition, memory, colors, and ordinary gestures.

Pi's artistic work is driven by the following key themes:

  • Sacred Gestures and Peripheral Dance Forms
  • Futurity and Radical Imagination
  • Intergenerational Transmission and Epistemic Resistance
  • Objects, Animism, and the Vitality of Matter

CORPO FIRME — Peripheral Dances, Sacred Gestures

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Since 2010, Ana Pi has shared and cultivated CORPO FIRME, a long-term practice and research project that connects the complexities of Afro-diasporic dances and sacred gestures. This work focuses on vigorous physicality, notions of groove, recodification of cultural traditions, experimentation with ancestral knowledge, and the invention of images. CORPO FIRME serves as a laboratory for the study and creation of intersections between traditional dance forms, aesthetic confluences, and contemporary art practices.

Selected Works

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NoirBLUE (2017)

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  • One of Pi's most acclaimed works is *NoirBLUE*[7], a solo performance that examines the intersection of blackness, color historiography, and regimes of visibility. The piece has been presented at prominent international institutions, including the Théâtre de Vanves in France, The Future is Feminist Festival in Brussels, and the Circular Festival in Portugal, among others.

O BANQUETE (2019)

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  • In *O BANQUETE*[8], Pi reflects on Brazilian social construction, food, and the intimate relations between feminism and heritage. The performance, commissioned by Associação Videobrasil, frames a conversation with Pi's aunt, Mylia Mary, and articulates notions of love, mourning, and spiritual nourishment. The piece has been presented at major international festivals, including the Festival d'Automne in Paris and the Antigel Festival in Geneva, among others.

The Divine Cypher (2021)

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  • The Divine Cypher* is a solo piece that articulates Haitian sacred gestures and the legacy of artists Katherine Dunham and Maya Deren. Pi draws from archival material and conducts field research in Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien to investigate the relationship between contemporary relations and ancestral rituals. *The Divine Cypher* premiered at La Briqueterie CDCN in France and has been presented at several festivals across Europe.

Antena Ia Mbambe (2023)

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  • Antena Ia Mbambe* is a kinetic installation created in collaboration with Taata Kwa Nkisi Mutá Imê, commissioned by the 35th São Paulo Biennial[9]. The work choreographs metal structures, ceramics, and animation to reflect on the Afro-Brazilian spiritual heritage of Candomblé and the Bantu cosmological tradition. This large-scale installation articulates the vital principle and divinity named "Tempo" and its metaphysical attributes.

Algorithm Ocean True Blood Moves (2023)

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  • Algorithm Ocean True Blood Moves* is a large-scale performance directed by Julien Creuzet, with choreography by Ana Pi[10]. This collaboration brings together 7 young dancers from the Alvin Ailey School, singer Malou Beauvoir, and the shatta soundscape of DJ Natoxie from Martinique. Curated by Charles Aubin, the performance was commissioned by the Performa Biennial and the Hartwig Foundation, presented in New York, Amsterdam, Dakar, and Providence.

ATOMIC JOY (2025)

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  • In 2025, Ana Pi will premiere *ATOMIC JOY*[11], a performance for 8 young dancers, at the Rencontres chorégraphiques internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis Festival and at the Pinacoteca de São Paulo, inaugurating the Brazil-France program. This work conceives joy as a powerful act of resistance, presenting a meeting between Ana Pi's choreography and direction with urban dance disciplines from the Greater Paris area and an original musical composition by French pianist Chassol.

International Residencies and Collaborations

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Ana Pi has participated in several international residencies, where she has collaborated with artists, curators, and researchers to expand her practice. Notable residencies and projects include:

  • MoMA Cisneros Fellowship (2020): Pi was awarded the prestigious Artist Fellowship from the MoMA Cisneros Institute to deepen her research on Afro-diasporic dance and experimental cinema. The fellowship allowed Pi to investigate Haitian voudoun sacred gestures through the legacy of Katherine Dunham and Maya Deren, culminating in the work *The Divine Cypher*.
  • Dancing Museums (2019–2021): As part of this long-term project[12], Pi collaborated with museums and choreographers across Europe. She worked as an associate choreographer at MAC VAL, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Val-de-Marne, and at La Briqueterie, CDCN, exploring how museums can serve as spaces for choreography and contemporary dance experimentation.

Selected Exhibitions and Shows

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Ana Pi's work has been presented at various prestigious cultural institutions and festivals worldwide:

  • 35th São Paulo Biennial (2023) - "Choreographies of the Impossible", Brazil[13]
  • Centre Pompidou (Paris and Metz, France)[14]
  • HKW, Berlin, Germany[15]
  • Inhotim, Brazil[16]
  • Festival d'Automne (Paris, France)[17]
  • Museo Reina Sofia (Madrid, Spain)[18]
  • Cali International Dance Biennial (Cali, Colombia)[19]
  • Fondation Cartier, Paris, France[20]
  • São Paulo Museum of Art MASP, Brazil[21]
  • Tiradentes Film Festival, Brazil[22]
  • Impulstanz Festival (Vienna, Austria)[23]
  • Santarcangelo Festival, Italy[24]
  • Museum of Contemporary Art of Rio de Janeiro (MAR), Brazil[25]
  • Performa Biennial, New York[26]
  • AMANT Brooklyn, New York[27]
  • American Folk Art Museum, New York[28]
  • RAW Material Company, Dakar, Senegal[29]
  • P.A.R.T.S, Brussels, Belgium[30]
  • Kaaitheater, Brussels, Belgium[31]
  • LAC Lugano, Switzerland[32]
  • Anozero Biennial, Coimbra, Portugal[33]


Selected Interviews and Articles

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Category:Brazilian women film directors Category:Brazilian choreographers Category:Brazilian dancers

  1. ^ https://portalmud.com.br/portal/calendario-da-danca/mud-conquista-o-premio-denilto-gomes-2018/
  2. ^ https://www.cinemaescrito.com/2018/11/xi-janela-2018-anuncia-os-premiados/
  3. ^ https://www.kurzfilmtage.de/en/festival/looking-back/more/#t2257
  4. ^ https://www.moma.org/research/cisneros/fellowships/artists-fellowships#2021-artist-fellow
  5. ^ https://www.amant.org/residents/177-ana-pi
  6. ^ https://www.maculture.fr/ana-pi
  7. ^ https://www.contemporaryand.com/fr/c-and-magazine/all-editorial/darkness-as-a-non-representational-field-in-ana-pis-noirblue
  8. ^ https://www.festival-automne.com/en/edition-2021/ana-pi-o-banquete
  9. ^ https://artebrasileiros.com.br/arte/artista/ana-pi/
  10. ^ https://contemporaryand.com/en/america-latina-magazine/texts/ana-pi-knowledge-does-not-disapear
  11. ^ https://midianinja.org/ana-pi-e-a-alegria-diante-do-colapso-do-mundo/
  12. ^ https://www.macval.fr/Ana-Pi-artiste-associee-de-Dancing-Museums-2
  13. ^ [1](https://35.bienal.org.br/participante/ana-pi-e-taata-kwa-nkisi-muta-ime/)
  14. ^ [2](https://www.centrepompidou.fr/fr/programme/agenda/evenement/cxn59aB)
  15. ^ [3](https://www.hkw.de/en/programme/bwa-kayiman-lakouzemi/quatuor-and-quantum-larmes-marees-de-la-lune)
  16. ^ [4](https://g1.globo.com/minas-gerais/noticia/2015/09/inhotim-tem-shows-e-exposicoes-para-comemorar-2-milhoes-de-visitantes.html)
  17. ^ [5](https://www.festival-automne.com/fr/artistes/ana-pi)
  18. ^ [6](https://www.museoreinasofia.es/en/activity/world-tour-urban-dance-ten-cities)
  19. ^ [7](https://bienaldanzacali.com/programacion-7-bienal-internacional-de-danza-2025/)
  20. ^ [8](https://medias.fondationcartier.com/fondation/documents/press/DP-DAMIEN-HIRST-FR.pdf)
  21. ^ [9](https://masp.org.br/exposicoes/ana-pi)
  22. ^ [10](https://cinefestivais.com.br/ana-pi-fala-sobre-noirblue-deslocamentos-de-uma-danca/)
  23. ^ [11](https://www.impulstanz.com/en/performances/pid1500/)
  24. ^ [12](https://www.santarcangelofestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/SANTARCANGELO-FESTIVAL-2023_catalogo.pdf)
  25. ^ [13](https://artrio.com/agenda-cultural/museu-de-arte-do-rio-nossa-vida-bantu-coletiva)
  26. ^ [14](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/04/arts/design/performa-biennial-new-york-performance.html)
  27. ^ [15](https://www.amant.org/programs/425-choreographing-transmission)
  28. ^ [16](https://issuu.com/american_folk_art_museum/docs/anapi_performance_program_issuu)
  29. ^ [17](http://www.rawmaterialcompany.org/_4467)
  30. ^ [18](https://parts.be/teacher/ana-pi)
  31. ^ [19](https://kaaitheater.be/fr/agenda/21-22/divine-cypher)
  32. ^ [20](https://www.luganolac.ch/fr/lac/programma/evento~lac~21-22~s~ldp~divine-cypher~.html)
  33. ^ [21](https://21-22.anozero-bienaldecoimbra.pt/en/artists/ana-pi)