A quasar is a heavenly body with an extraordinary capacity to radiate energy. It seemed like a perfect name for a dance company which began to take form in the state of Goiás at the end of the 80’s. Completely cut off from the Rio-São Paulo circuit, the group founded by Vera Bicalho and Henrique Rodovalho proposed a rupture from academic rules and fed a necessity to not develop models. This posture made it possible for Quasar Dance Co. to cover an interesting trajectory, escaping the purely aesthetic relations of dance to more deeply explore its own language, thus synchronizing contemporary thought.

The dancers brought with them influences from the Grupo Energia of choreographer and video-maker Julson Henrique, but they wanted to follow their own hearts and try out new forms of artistic expression. To choreograph the first show, the group invited physical education student Henrique Rodovalho who, until then, had been involved only in martial arts. The result of the work resulted in Asas (Wings) - 1988, a play which lasted 1 hour.

Quasar began to find its way while narrating short comedy stories. At that time the scenic portrayal of interesting ideas still spoke louder than the proposals of movement Under The Same Big Blue (1990) gave more boldness to the company’s work which merged photography, video and music with improvisation on stage. Next appeared Do Not Disturb (1992), Three to the Center (1992) and The Chicken’s Egg (1993), performances which stamped the group with the rhythm of creation and a Mambembe identity. The group soon began to go on the road within Brazil. In Goiania, Quasar has already influenced other groups and initiated a gradual job of educating the public for dance and theater, given the notable capacity of the group to communicate with its audiences. The first time the group received an invitation to do shows outside Brazil was during the opening of the XXV Festival of Art and Dance of Manizales, in Colombia.

The sophistication process of the work of Henrique Rodovalho and the Quasar Dance Co. was recognized during the performance Versus (1994), which went on to Germany (Internationales Summer Theater Festival, in Hannover). The Goiânia company began to awaken interest abroad even before being discovered on the Brazilian dance scene. In the same year, the group settled into the Nucaic (Nucleus of Assistance to Cultural Initiatives), a building which was donated by the Federal University of Goiás, where the administrative-financial structure of the company was pioneered under the coordination of the then-bailarina and co-founder, Vera Bicalho.

Nominated for the Carlton Dance, Quasar Cia. de Dança presented the show named Versus (1994) and was widely acclaimed by critics who announced an interesting moment in the history of contemporary Brazilian dance – the surrender of the great dance centers to the work developed by a group from Central Brazil. During the same year Quasar won the award for best performance in the III Susanne Dellal Dance Festival of Tel-Aviv, Israel.

The simplicity and charisma of Register (1997) also conquered the public in the second edition of Comfort em Dança in 1997. It opened precedent for the consecration of the work of Rodovalho and the company during Prêmio Mambembe when the Culture Ministry, via Funarte (Aid to Art Foundation), granted five awards to Quasar: Year’ Best in the following categories: group, spectacle, choreography, revelation male dancer, revelation female dancer.

Technical competence and artistic creativity were joined in the production of Dividual (1998), whose creation counted upon the partnership of the Culture and Labor Ministries for Project Open Scene. According to the choreographer and artistic director Henrique Rodovalho, it was at exactly this time that the troupe discovered a clearer and more unique proposal of movement as it made a statement on the loneliness conquered by contemporary man. This was the year that Brasil Telecom became a sponsor of Quasar.

Increasingly present in presentations throughout Europe and the United States, Quasar launched Choreography To Be Heard (1999), based on the lives and careers of popular Northeastern Brazilian musicians. At the end of 2000, Rodovalho received the Best Choreographer award with the performance called Women (2000), at the XXI Award INBA - UAM (Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes - Universidade Autónoma Metropolitana) for Choreographic Composition in Mexico City. This would be the first time that a foreign artist had received an award in 21 years. The work continued with the production of Lend Me Your Eyes (2001), the most poetic performance produced for Quasar. It debates the relationship of humans with time and the inversion of social roles.

Dividual and Lend Me Your Eyes were chosen to commemorate Quasar’s 15th birthday at Quasar Locomove, a project of integrated action targeting professional training, public eduction and the democratization of access to scenic arts. Both spectacles circulated through five Brazilian capitals (Curitiba, Florianópolis, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro and Goiânia), with the sponsorship of Petrobrás and Brasil Telecom. Closing its activities for 2003, Quasar toured around the United States presenting Lend Me Your Eyes in six North American states with the help of the New England Foundation of Arts, National Dance Project and the University of Texas (Austin).

As a result of the 15th birthday commemorations, the company also inaugurated the Espaço Quasar in Goiânia. The establishment is a cultural center focusing on training, reflection, research and debate regarding contemporary art, based on corporal expression. In the beginning of 2004, O+, was presented for the first time. It is a show which celebrates dance and the desire to dance, commenting on the performance which exists in every man and woman. The most recent performance of the company is It Could Only Be With You which is a homage to Elis Regina and Tom Jobim.

Awards

Concorrência FIAT/90 - A Magia da Arte

Prêmio Estímulo (1995) - Funarte/Ministério da Cultura

Prêmio Mambembe (1995): Melhor Cia Funarte/Ministério da Cultura

Prêmio Revelação - Carlton Dance (1996)

Prêmio Co-produção Brasil/Alemanha (1996)

Melhor espetáculo para Versus, em Tel-Aviv, Israel, no III Festival Susanne Dellal Center (1996)

Prêmio Mambembe (1997) para Registro - Ministério da Cultura, nas categorias Melhor Cia, Melhor espetáculo, Melhor coreógrafo (Henrique Rodovalho), Bailarina revelação (Karina Mendes), Bailarino revelação (Gleidson Vigne)

Comenda Professor Colemar Natal e Silva, Troféu Braz Pompeu de Pina - Assembléia Legislativa do Estado de Goiás (1997) Indicada ao Prêmio Multicultural Estadão (1999), concedido pelo Jornal O Estado de São Paulo.

XXI Prêmio INBA - UAN (Instituto Nacional de Belas Artes - Universidade Autónoma Nácional) de Composición Coreográfica (2000), concedio pela CONACULTA , Cidade do México, categoria A, Melhor coreógrafo (Henrique Rodovalho ), em Mulheres

TROFÉU JABURU, concedido no final de 2004, as principais personalidades do Estado.