Type: Production · Dance / Computer Art / Performance
Date: 11 December 1984; related documentation and presentations extend into 1984
Context: Experimental dance integrating choreography, computer technology, generated visual material and live performance
Location: Circo Escola Picadeiro, Parque do Povo, São Paulo; additional presentation at Praça Benedito Calixto
Organisation: Ricardo Viviani / independent production
Role: Choreographer · Performer · Researcher · Producer
Participants: Ricardo Viviani · Renata Melo
Technology: Microdigital computer equipment
Status: Historical production record reconstructed from surviving primary documentation, photographs and archival recollection

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Record / Description

Danças Novas e uma Usada belongs to an early period in Ricardo Viviani’s work in which choreography, performance, experimental composition and computer technology began to intersect.

The surviving press release identifies the presentation as taking place on 11 December 1984 at 20:30 at the Circo Escola Picadeiro, Parque do Povo, São Paulo, near the Jardim bridge. The document presents Viviani as a dancer and choreographer and describes an artistic practice concerned with developing new forms of dance through experimentation and research.

The programme included a series of solos and a duet performed by Ricardo Viviani and Renata Melo. The release specifically identifies Uma Usada as the solo Danúbio Azul, which had premiered in 1982, while Relações Interpessoais is described as a work in which dance and computer technology interact.

The computer was not simply an object placed onstage. According to the surviving release, Relações Interpessoais used computers and monitors as part of the logic of the performance: data generated through the system determined aspects of the relationship and sequence of the dancers’ actions.

The Work / Creation

Danças Novas e uma Usada should be understood as a production framework rather than simply the title of a single choreography. The surviving document presents a group of works that brought together existing repertoire and new experiments.

The most technologically distinctive component was Relações Interpessoais, described in the release as an integration of computer and dance. A computer-generated or computer-determined system became part of the choreographic structure, with data used to determine the relationship between the dancers and the sequence of events.

The release also identifies Uma Usada as Danúbio Azul, a solo that had premiered in 1982. This establishes an important relationship between the earlier solo repertoire and the new computer-oriented research.

Activity / Event

Documented presentation: 11 December 1984, 20:30, Circo Escola Picadeiro, Parque do Povo, São Paulo.

The surviving press release gives the venue and location as the Circo Escola Picadeiro at Parque do Povo, near the Jardim bridge. This supersedes the previously uncertain venue information in the archive.

An additional presentation is recalled at Praça Benedito Calixto. The surviving performance photograph provides visual evidence of Ricardo Viviani and Renata Melo performing outdoors before an audience. The photographic record is particularly significant because Viviani’s studio address, printed on the surviving release, was also at Praça Benedito Calixto.

Production

The production combined choreography, performance, computer equipment, sound, text and visual experimentation.

The surviving release states that the computer equipment was provided by Microdigital Computadores. The release describes a stage environment containing four monitors and three computers. The equipment therefore formed part of the performance environment and choreographic conception rather than functioning solely as technical support.

The surviving computer equipment is still held in Ricardo Viviani’s archive. These machines constitute important physical evidence of the technological environment in which this work was developed and should eventually be documented as archival objects, including their models, configuration and surviving software or media where identifiable.

Intellectual Production

The production represents an early form of artistic research in which computer technology was treated as a compositional partner in dance rather than simply as a recording or administrative tool.

The surviving release describes the computer system as contributing data that determined relationships and sequences within the performance. This provides direct evidence of an attempt to translate computational processes into choreographic structure.

The work is therefore relevant to the history of Viviani’s research into new dance forms, as well as to the broader intersection of dance, experimental performance and early personal-computer culture in Brazil.

Primary Source / Documentation

The principal primary source for this record is a surviving thermal-paper press release / artistic information document associated with the production. Its typography, 8-bit graphics and physical format are themselves part of the production history.

The document is particularly important because it preserves information that would otherwise be difficult to reconstruct: the documented venue, date and time; the relationship between the existing and new works; the participation of Renata Melo; the use of computers and monitors within the performance; the musical and textual credits; the equipment provider; and Ricardo Viviani’s studio address.

The 8-bit graphics are not treated here as incidental decoration. They form part of the surviving visual language of the project and provide evidence of the connection between the graphic, technological and choreographic aspects of the work.

Research

This record contributes to a larger chronology of Ricardo Viviani’s experimentation during the early and mid-1980s.

The surviving documentation establishes a connection between the 1982 Danúbio Azul, the 1984 presentation documented by the press release, and subsequent work involving Relações Interpessoais / Serious Talk and Colchões Ortopédicos.

The relationship between the different dates and presentations should remain historically explicit rather than being reduced to a single creation date. The archive currently contains evidence from 1983 and 1984, including the press release, performance photography and later documentation. Further examination of surviving papers, computers, photographs and other materials may refine the chronology.

Relationship

Relações Interpessoais is particularly important to the genealogy of this production. The surviving documentation establishes the Portuguese title, while later documentation identifies Serious Talk as its English title. These should be treated as two titles for the same work, not as separate choreographies.

The computer-based research documented here also connects directly with the later development and presentation of Viviani’s work in New York and with the technological and graphic experiments visible in the surviving 1984 documentation.

This production should therefore be read as part of a continuing line of investigation rather than as an isolated event.

Place / Context

The documented venue was Circo Escola Picadeiro, Parque do Povo, São Paulo.

The archive also contains photographic evidence of an outdoor presentation at Praça Benedito Calixto. This location has particular significance because Ricardo Viviani’s studio was situated at Praça Benedito Calixto 162, the address printed on the surviving release. The studio was not simply an administrative address: it was a place where Viviani lived, rehearsed and gave dance classes.

The proximity between studio, rehearsal activity, teaching and public presentation forms an important part of the working context of this period. The Praça therefore represents both a geographic and an artistic context for the production.

Personal Reflection

This work belongs to a period when the computer itself became part of the artistic investigation. The surviving machines, the early computer graphics and the performance documentation preserve a moment when technology was being explored directly through dance and choreography.

Archival Material

• Surviving thermal-paper press release / artistic information document
• 8-bit graphics incorporated into the surviving printed document
• Surviving computers used in the production
• Performance photograph of Ricardo Viviani and Renata Melo at Praça Benedito Calixto
• Production-related photographs and computer-art images
• Printed studio address and contact information contained in the original release

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Continue reading “Danças Novas e Uma Usada – Dança na Praça”

Type: Dance Work / Piece · Production
Date: 1982
Context: Grupo Marzipan
Location: São Paulo, Brazil
Organisation: Grupo Marzipan
Role: Choreographer · Performer
Participants: Grupo Marzipan · Ricardo Viviani · Renata Melo
Status: Historical Record — incomplete / ongoing archival reconstruction

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Record / Description

Danúbio Azul is a choreographic work by Ricardo Viviani, created and first presented with Grupo Marzipan in São Paulo in 1982.

The existing archive record identifies this presentation as the premiere of Danúbio Azul. Further research and surviving documentation indicate that the work was subsequently presented on a number of occasions and at different venues in São Paulo.

This record is being reconstructed from surviving programmes, poster material, photographs, personal recollection and independent historical research. Exact performance dates, venues, casts and programme contents will be added as the original documentation is located and examined.

The Work / Creation

Danúbio Azul was choreographed by Ricardo Viviani during his period of work with Grupo Marzipan in the early 1980s.

The work belongs to the experimental dance environment developed by Marzipan in São Paulo, where dance was combined with theatrical, visual and other performance languages.

Creative Team

Choreography: Ricardo Viviani

Additional creative and production credits are awaiting confirmation from surviving programmes and poster material.

Performers

Renata Melo: dancer / performer.

Renata Melo was an important member of Grupo Marzipan and is documented in Ricardo Viviani’s archive in connection with several works from this period. Her participation in Danúbio Azul is retained here as part of the ongoing documentary reconstruction.

Further performers will be added when confirmed from the surviving programme or other primary documentation.

Performance History

1982 — São Paulo: premiere of Danúbio Azul with Grupo Marzipan.

The work was subsequently presented in São Paulo at different venues. Existing archival references indicate presentations connected with MASP — Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand and other venues. The exact dates and programme contents remain to be reconstructed.

Madame Satã: Ricardo Viviani recalls performing Danúbio Azul many times at Madame Satã in São Paulo. The venue’s historical documentation confirms Marzipan’s presence among the dance groups presented there. The individual performances will be added when supported by programmes, posters, listings or other contemporary documentation.

Programme Context

Ricardo Viviani recalls that Lili Marlene, a choreography he created for Renata Melo, may have formed part of the same programme associated with this period of Grupo Marzipan performances.

This relationship is currently recorded as provisional. The surviving programme or poster will be used to establish whether Lili Marlene was actually included in the programme documented by this record.

If confirmed, Lili Marlene should remain a separate work record, with this page recording the programme relationship rather than absorbing the work into Danúbio Azul.

Relationship with Renata Melo

Renata Melo was a dancer with Grupo Marzipan and collaborated with Ricardo Viviani in several works during this period.

Ricardo Viviani created Lili Marlene specifically for Renata Melo. Their collaboration also included Serious Talk / Relações Interpessoais, documented elsewhere in the archive, as well as her participation in Danúbio Azul.

These works should be maintained as separate records while their relationship as part of a continuing Ricardo Viviani–Renata Melo collaboration is made explicit through reciprocal internal links.

Artistic Context

Grupo Marzipan emerged in São Paulo in the early 1980s and became associated with an experimental approach combining dance with theatre, mime, visual culture, popular imagery and other performance languages.

Danúbio Azul belongs to the early period of this development and forms part of Ricardo Viviani’s early choreographic work in São Paulo.

Research

Independent research on the history of Grupo Marzipan identifies Danúbio Azul among the group’s early works and identifies Renata Melo among the artists associated with the group.

Further reconstruction will rely primarily on the surviving programmes, poster material and photographs held in Ricardo Viviani’s archive, supplemented by contemporary press and later historical research.

Primary Source / Documentation

Known or expected primary documentation includes:

• programme material for the 1982 presentation;
• poster material;
• photographs;
• a photograph taken by Roberto Frankenberg;
• programmes documenting presentations at MASP and other venues;
• possible documentation of performances at Madame Satã;
• contemporary publicity and press material, if located.

The original programmes are particularly important because they may establish the complete cast, the relationship between Danúbio Azul and Lili Marlene, and the precise sequence and contents of the programme.

Archival Material

Current archival inventory:

• photograph by Roberto Frankenberg — identified, original source to be examined;
• poster — to be located / examined;
• programme — to be located / examined;
• additional photographs — to be located;
• contemporary press and publicity material — pending reconstruction.

Legacy filenames and documentary identifiers should be retained when the material is migrated, where they contribute to archival reconstruction.

Contribution / Significance

Danúbio Azul is part of Ricardo Viviani’s early choreographic production and his work with Grupo Marzipan in São Paulo. The surviving documentation has particular value for reconstructing the movement of experimental dance between museums, cultural institutions and alternative performance spaces during the 1980s.

Assessment / Relevance

The combination of programmes, poster material and photographic documentation may allow this record to develop into a detailed performance history rather than remaining only a record of the 1982 premiere.

The connection with Renata Melo is also significant because Danúbio Azul, Lili Marlene and Serious Talk / Relações Interpessoais document a continuing artistic collaboration that should be represented across the archive without collapsing the individual works into one record.

Post Scriptum

September 2026: Ricardo Viviani identified further surviving documentation relating to Danúbio Azul, including a photograph by Roberto Frankenberg, poster material and programmes. Further documentary examination is pending.

Ricardo also recalls that Lili Marlene, created for Renata Melo, may have been included in the same programme. This remains provisional until the original programme or another contemporary source confirms it.

Keywords

Danúbio Azul, Ricardo Viviani, Grupo Marzipan, Marzipan, Renata Melo, Lili Marlene, Serious Talk, Relações Interpessoais, Roberto Frankenberg, MASP, Museu de Arte de São Paulo, Madame Satã, São Paulo, choreography, dance, performance, 1982, Brazilian dance, experimental dance

External Links

Roberto Frankenberg — Biography

Madame Satã — History

Research on Zélia Monteiro and Grupo Marzipan

Internal Links

Renata Melo — Danças Novas e Uma Usada

Seis Histórias de Amor — Grupo Marzipan Production

Colchões Ortopédicos — Dance Concert

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Archival Note: This page forms part of an ongoing personal archive documenting Ricardo Viviani’s professional work and activities over more than four decades. Names and other personal information appear where relevant to the documented work or collaboration. If you believe that information concerning you has been published incorrectly or should be reconsidered, please contact me.