The School of Self-Defense
Mata Leão
Davi Pontes, Wallace Ferreira
with an Introduction Keynote by Denise Ferreira
How can dance be developed into a practice of self-defense? Is it possible to make violence visible without re-enacting the dynamics of violence? How does each body develop its own capacity for self-defense? With their Repertório trilogy, the Rio de Janeiro-based choreographers Davi Pontes and Wallace Ferreira delivered a response to the rise of the far right in the country. At the end of October 2026, shortly after the next presidential election in Brazil, Pontes and Ferreira will premiere at the Volksbühne with a new production, for the first time outside Brazil.
In the martial art of jiu-jitsu, ‘Mata Leão’ refers to a chokehold that forces the opponent to submit or lose consciousness. Literally translated, ‘Mata Leão’ means ‘lion killer’ or ‘to kill the lion’. The title evokes images from cultural history, such as Rubens’ painting Hercules and the Nemean Lion or the biblical story of David strangling a lion with his bare hands. They tell of a physical strength that allows humans to turn into lions themselves in the act of defeating the animal. With Mata Leão, Davi Pontes and Wallace Ferreira expand the self-defense choreographies they have been developing as a duo since 2018. Teaming up with six performers, they form a collective of artists that both allows for and actively encourages creative divergence and deviation, creating a poetic space to explore the complex relationship between body and imagination.
Elements of funk and ballroom emerge, only to be disrupted and reconfigured. Powerful movements are punctuated by moments of divergence, pauses, and playful gestures. Humour and irreverence serve as strategies for drawing the audience into a space of shared responsibility. Mata Leão is an exploration of racist violence that goes beyond fear or melancholy. The play creates a poetic space in which the relationship between the body and the imagination is explored. In Celeste Burlina’s scenography, the Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz transforms into the site of a choreographic experiment.
Funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation
Funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media
Cast
With
- Sebastião Abreu
- Koko Yeji Boanyah
- Wallace Ferreira
- Gavin Law
- Mai-Júli Machado Nhapulo
- Davi Pontes
- Rayne
- Galina Rodríguez
Performances
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Main Stage
The School of Self-Defense
The School of Self-Defense
Mata Leão
Davi Pontes, Wallace Ferreira
Followed by a conversation between Wallace Ferreira, Davi Pontes and André Lepecki
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