The very existence of theatre with a Brazilian accent is surely down to the invention of José Celso Martinez. Now 73 years old, the master is more active than ever. He is pursuing his search for Dionysian theatre, an ongoing dramatic ritual brought up to date by contact with the audience.

A natural phenomenon is behind the title of this production, which is suffused with a subtle blend of humour, violence and sensuality. In Portuguese "Pororoca" means the brutal meeting of river and seawater, the tide race.

The feeling of this choreography by Marcelo Evelin for eight dancers is at once dry, poignant and bitter, plunging us into a silent battle before a backdrop of Schubert (String Quintet in C major): an unnamed hand-to-hand fight which translates into simple body language – a constant, wild rush – the struggle of Brazilians searching for their identity.

Brazil’s racial melting pot is unquestionably one of the sources of its culture, and Claudio Bernardo, the Brazilian Belgian, never fails to make use of it in his work.