Augusto Omolú (1962 - 2013) was born in
Salvador, Bahia, and grew up within the religious world of the
Candomblé, where he was ogan (ceremonial
assistant). He began to dance in 1976 with the
ensemble Viva Bahia directed by Emília Biancardi. After studying
classical ballet and modern dance, he joined the Castro Alves
Ballet. and was from 1982 responsible for a course in
"Afro-Brazilian technique" at the Castro Alves Theatre. During the
years 1983-1985, he created and directed the company
Chama, working both as a dancer and choreographer. Augusto
Omolú collaborated with ISTA
(International School of Theatre Anthropology) from 1994 and
in 2002 he joined Odin Teatret as an actor. He gave
workshops in Orixá dance technique for dance and theatre students
around the world and made choreographies for ballet and modern
dance companies in Brazil, Denmark and Italy. His
performance Orô de
Otelo, directed by Eugenio Barba,
brought together his experiences with the Candomblé tradition and
techniques learnt at Odin Teatret and ISTA. Augusto
Omolú sometimes presented fragments of Orô de
Otelo as a work demonstration.
Performances
Ode to
Progress
The Great Cities under the
Moon
Andersen's Dream
ISTA production
Orô de
Otelo
Theatrum Mundi
performances
The
Marriage of Medea
Ur-Hamlet
Four Poems for Sanjukta
Ego Faust
The Island of Labyrinths