📚 A Linha Curva — 6b · Overview
A Linha Curva
Itzik Galili · Rambert · 2009 · Brazilian culture · 28 dancers · 23 minutes · End stage
📚 What this page covers
- All the key facts you need to know — locked in with a flashcard test
- Context: who made it, who performs it, what Brazilian culture brings to the work
- How to watch the work actively — with focused viewing tasks and clip links
1 · Key Facts at a Glance
Choreographer
Itzik Galili
Company
Rambert
Rambert premiere
12 May 2009, Sadler's Wells, London
Originally performed by
Balé da Cidade de São Paulo, Brazil (2005)
Title meaning
The Curved Line (Portuguese)
Stimulus
Brazilian culture — celebration of life in the moment
Dance style
Contemporary · Samba · Capoeira
Dancers
28 — 15 male · 13 female
Duration
23 minutes
Performance environment
End stage
Lighting designer
Itzik Galili (the choreographer himself)
Aural setting
Percossa — live percussion group (Holland)
Examiner's Eye — most tested facts
Choreographer's name · Company · Number of dancers (and the male/female split) · Title meaning · Who designed the lighting. That last one catches people out — Galili lit his own work.
Say the answer out loud before you flip each card.
Choreographertap to reveal
Itzik Galili
Companytap to reveal
Rambert
Title meaningtap to reveal
The Curved Line (Portuguese)
Number of dancerstap to reveal
28 — 15 male, 13 female
Dance stylestap to reveal
Contemporary, samba & capoeira
Durationtap to reveal
23 minutes
Performance environmenttap to reveal
End stage
Lighting designertap to reveal
Itzik Galili — the choreographer
2 · Context
Itzik Galili — Choreographer & Lighting Designer
70+ works. Knighted in the Netherlands in 2006. He designs the lighting for most of his own pieces — so the choreography and the lighting grid in A Linha Curva were created by the same person, at the same time, as one idea.
When making A Linha Curva, Galili used collaborative improvisation. Each dancer created a short phrase (2–3 counts of eight) of their favourite moves — staying within their allocated square in the lighting grid. Each phrase was named after its creator, and the whole company then learnt everyone else's phrase. Galili believes you can see each dancer's personality in their sequence.
Rambert — Britain's oldest contemporary dance company (founded 1926)
The only UK contemporary dance company that always tours with a live orchestra. Four percussionists from Percossa perform on a raised platform upstage — visible and equal in status to the dancers, just like musicians in a Brazilian carnival parade.
The choreographic intent is simply to have fun — but with a contradiction in the title. The Curved Line is performed within regimented straight-line formations and a strict grid of right-angled lighting squares. Freedom within restriction — that's the work's central tension.
Analogy Anchor
Think of a carnival that has rules. All colour and joy on the surface — but the dancers are confined to strict grid squares, their timing dictated by pre-programmed lighting. That tension is the whole point.
Three movement traditions are blended — knowing their characteristics helps you identify specific movement and explain how it links to the stimulus.
Samba
Rocking body, hip movement, syncopated 4/4 rhythm. Sensual, energised — the dance of Brazilian carnival.
Capoeira
Brazilian martial art. Circular kicks, low stances, acrobatics. Call-and-response chanting with percussion.
Contemporary
Expressive and free. Floor work, parallel stance, flexed feet. Rambert's core technique — the base of the work.
Examiner's Eye — the contradiction
In a 12-mark Discuss answer, the title is a strong hook for personal interpretation. You could argue: the curved line represents individual freedom, the straight lines represent society's constraints — and the work explores the tension between the two.
3 · Watch the Work
Use these clips to get familiar with the work before tackling the main sections. Watch more than once — each time with a different focus from the viewing tasks below.
Official Trailer
A Linha Curva — Rambert
A great first look at the work — lighting grid, formations, costumes and carnival atmosphere all in under 2 minutes.
Performance Clip
A Linha Curva — Rambert
A longer excerpt from the work — use the viewing tasks below to focus your watching.
For the full performance and choreographer interview
Ask your teacher for access — the full 23-minute work and the Galili interview are available for use in exam preparation circumstances. Watching the full work is strongly recommended before your exam.
Use one of these four tasks each time you watch — don't try to notice everything at once.
1
The Lighting Grid
Notice the 7×7 chequer-board of coloured squares. Watch how dancers move into and out of squares as colours change — the timing is pre-programmed, so everyone must be exactly on cue.
2
Ensemble vs Narrative Sections
Grid on = big ensemble formations, samba parade feel, all 28 dancers. Grid off = smaller groups, story-like interaction between men and women. The lighting tells you which type you're watching.
3
Costume Details
Count the different colours of shorts (there are 10). Look for the men's metallic disc collars at the very start — they catch and reflect the light. Men have open fronts, women open backs.
4
Aural Setting
Listen for vocal sounds from both the musicians on their raised platform AND from the dancers themselves. Notice when the energy drops for the slow Adage Septet section — this is where the skateboards appear.
Fill in the Blank — what did you notice?
1. The lighting creates a grid of coloured squares on the stage.
2. The music is performed live by four from a group called Percossa.
3. In the slower middle section, five dancers glide across the stage on .
4. In the narrative sections, the male dancers in front of the female dancers.
📌 Revisit This — 6 Things to Remember
Galili's dual role
He designed both the choreography and the lighting
Choreographic approach
Collaborative improvisation — motifs named after their creators
The contradiction
The curved line is performed within straight-line grids — freedom within restriction
Two section types
Ensemble (grid on, samba parade) vs narrative (grid off, male/female interaction)
Live music
Percossa — 4 percussionists visible upstage, equal to the dancers
Rambert
UK's oldest contemporary dance company — always tours with live orchestra
Revision Check
10 questions covering key facts, context and the work — select one answer per question, then submit.
1. Who choreographed A Linha Curva?
2. What does A Linha Curva mean in English?
3. How many dancers are in the work, and what is the male/female split?
4. What makes Rambert distinctive compared to other UK contemporary dance companies?
5. What is the main choreographic intent of A Linha Curva?
6. What contradiction is captured in the title of the work?
7. Which dance style features circular kicks and call-and-response chanting?
8. Where are the musicians positioned during the performance?
9. What is used to propel five dancers across the stage in the Adage Septet?
10. Who designed the lighting for A Linha Curva?
Take a screenshot of your score and paste it into your ePortfolio so your teacher can see your progress.