Lia Rodrigues

 Lia Rodrigues (Brazil) graduated in classical ballet at the Escola de Bailado in Sao Paulo. In 1977 she founded the Grupo Andança which, in the following year, received the Arts Critics Association of Sao Paulo award for “Best New Company”. In the ‘eighties she moved to Europe, where she worked and danced with Compagnie Maguy Marin. In 1990 she returned to Brazil, settled in Rio de Janeiro and established the Lia Rodrigues Companhia de Danças. Her choreographies have been presented in Europe, the US, and Israel. In Brazil she has received numerous awards, and is today considered one of the country’s most accomplished avant-garde, innovative choreographers. Lia Rodrigues is also a founder and the artistic director of the Rio international contemporary dance festival Panorama RioArte Danca (which is currently in its 10th year).