Véronique Champagne - March 7, 2018

Dois: A tête-à-tête between two brothers

Luis and Pedro are brothers. They share a family, a past, memories, experiences, and the same love of the performing arts. In Dois, they come together in front of an audience for the first time in an artistic performance that showcases their talents in the circus arts, visual theatre, and archery.

“He’s three and a half years older than me. He’s a performance artist and a circus artist specializing in visual art. He draws well, he plays the drums well… he’s good at everything he does” says Pedro.

“This guy is my brother. He’s an artist specialized in Chinese mast. He started in the circus with me around 2000. Then I went to Belgium to study and he followed me,” says Luis.

Performing complex relationships

They introduce one another, and their story is told the same way on stage with exchanges flying from one perception to the next, memories clashing or intertwining. Intent on communicating a specific idea each time, the two brothers express themselves with precise gestures on a bare, minimalist stage. They want to affect rather than impress.

Argument and agreement, love and hate, collaboration and competition… Luis and Pedro perform the complexity of the relationship between brothers—and the complexity of all significant relationships. They explore the central themes of empathy, trust, rivalry, and more, in a perspective of duality skillfully represented by the symbolism of archery. Allusions to classical tales are woven through their personal stories.

The Sartori do Vale duo successfully injects suspense into a setting that keeps us captivated throughout the whole performance. They are two, and we feel like they are one.

After enchanting audiences in Europe, the two Brazilians who now live in Finland will present Dois in the Cinquième Salle at the Place des Arts from Thursday, April 12 to Sunday, April 15.