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Musseque, before being a piece for four dancers, is home, a meeting place, a way of being. It is the continuation of what has been lived and felt, transforming past experiences that were never forgotten into a dance of the present.

In memory, we return to a civil war marked by its two main parties, MPLA and UNITA. In body, we witness the birth of a force of resistance: kuduro. These are bodies shaped by the turbulence of war, and the effects of migration, yet saved by the power of dance etched into their movements and growing until the emergence of another force: afrohouse. On this stage, we revisit the neighborhoods on the outskirts of Angola the musseques witnessing the rise of music and dance, marginalized by many but cherished by the people, who turn everyday struggles into rhythms like bela, ti nogueira, do volante, among others.

Musseque also seeks to portray the strength of women in a culture shaped by masculine expectations. Many questions demand answers, and Musseque is a search in the present for those very answers, revealing a style that emerged as a “time-limited pill to distract us from a civil war.”

© Garlics Colectivo
© Paulo Pacheco
© Garlics Colectivo
© Paulo Pacheco
© Paulo Pacheco
© Garlics Colectivo

Credits

Artistic Direction and Creation
Fábio (Krayze) Januário

Performers and co-creators
Fábio (Krayze) Januário, Selma Mylene, Xenos Palma, Elvis Carvalho (Grelha)

Artistic Support
Marco da Silva Ferreira, Piny

Sound Design
DJ Poco

Light Design
Pedro Guimarães

Space Design
Filipe Tootill

Costumes
Susana Santos - Mana Terra

Photography & Video
Afonso Sereno

Production
Rita Pessoa

Support and Production
Pensamento Avulso

Co-production
O Espaço do Tempo, Cineteatro Louletano e Centro Cultural Vila Flor, within the CASA program

Partnership
Festival Ou.kupa

Residencies
Espaço Alkantara, B.Leza, UDance, Teatro do Bairro Alto, O Espaço do Tempo, CineTeatro Louletano, Centro Cultural Vila Flor

Acknowledgments
Mélanie Ferreira, Marco da Silva Ferreira, toda a equipa do Festival Ou.kupa, Teatro do Bairro Alto

Fábio "Krayze" Januário

Fábio Januário (1988, Luanda, Angola) moved to Portugal in 2002 and graduated with a degree in Dance from Escola Superior de Dança in 2015. He deepened his knowledge of urban dance styles (hip-hop, house, popping, locking) and regularly teaches Kuduro workshops and masterclasses in countries such as Portugal, France, Switzerland, Slovakia, Belgium, and Hungary.

As a dancer, he has performed at Portuguese festivals like NOS ALIVE, Rock in Rio, MEO Sudoeste, and Sol da Caparica, and collaborated with artists such as Buraka Som Sistema, Benjamin Prins, and Piny, among others. Since 2022, he has been a performer in C A R C A Ç A, by Marco da Silva Ferreira.

In his research, he focuses on Kuduro, participating in projects with other artists, including music videos, performances, and television shows. Building on his initial work developed through OU.KUPA, curated by Piny, he created his first piece, Musseque.