From the urbanized imagination of Northeast Brazil comes Omstrab, a troupe of smokin' male dancers who combine African, Indian and Iberian Peninsula rhythms with street dance, music and theater. In the same vein as Stomp and Cookin' (the one about chefs cookin' up a wedding banquet, with kitchen utensils standing in for percussion instruments), Omstrab creates a multi-performance piece that playfully profiles the lives of five workers who migrate from Brazil's drought-stricken regions to the big city, where (according to the press release) they struggle with love, need and insecurity in a culture that perpetuates male behavioral stereotypes.
Inspired by the movement and sounds of workers and their "instruments," Omstrab exposes the regional quirks and enduring daily rituals of the Brazilian every man.
This article appears in Mar 1-7, 2006.