Audio Transcribed

The choreographic series Cacos was created in 2023 by Cristian Duarte em companhia as part of the Kintsugi project. Composed of five dances—four duets and one trio—the series emerges from the articulation of the distinct subjectivities, corporealities, and imaginations of the company’s artists. 

The term “cacos” refers to a broken piece of ceramic, whose fragments, when brought together, carry the marks of their journey. This image inspired the Kintsugi project, in which the company took as a reference the Japanese artisanal technique of the same name. In kintsugi, broken ceramic pieces are repaired with lacquer mixed with gold, highlighting their cracks rather than concealing them. 

This act of embracing imperfections redefines the piece, making its ruptures an essential part of its beauty and uniqueness. For the choreographer, kintsugi became a powerful metaphor for the company’s continuity processes, as well as an opportunity to reflect on memory, resilience, and perseverance. 

In Kintsugi, we look at the various fragments of what we have created, recognizing them as essential parts of our trajectory while exploring new perspectives on who we were and who

we are. 

The collective agency of these “cacos” (shards), at the end of the project, gave rise to the work "E Nunca Minhas Mãos Estão Vazias" (And Never Are My Hands Empty), the most recent creation by Cristian Duarte em companhia, featuring nine artists on stage. 

Now, in 2025, the company revisits Cacos within the context of the project Sempre Junto e Nunca Igual (Always Together and Never the Same), supported by the 36th edition of the Municipal Dance Promotion Program for the City of São Paulo, from the Municipal Department of Culture. 

In this new development, Cristian Duarte em companhia continues its dance research through the preservation and circulation of works from its repertoire, expanding its actions and presence in São Paulo while reaffirming its commitment to being increasingly porous and accessible.