“Each of us brings what the work needs in that moment.”
Interview by Nicolas Vamvouklis
Repertório N.1
Davi Pontes and Wallace Ferreira, Repertório N.1, 2025, performance still. Porchester Hall, London, 18-19 October 2025. Co-commissioned by Serpentine, Dance Umbrella, Something Great, Wiener Festwochen, Arsenic, Viernulvier and Festival DDD/Teatro Municipal do Porto. Photo by Talie Rose Eigeland. Courtesy of the artists, Serpentine and Dance Umbrella.
all images: courtesy of the artists, Serpentine and Dance Umbrella. Photography by Talie Rose Eigeland.
Repertório N.1 is the final part of a performance trilogy by Brazilian artists Davi Pontes and Wallace Ferreira, which treats self-defence as choreography and the body as a form of protection. This long-term project engages with questions of race, gender, and power, asking how brutality is rehearsed and resisted. Following the work’s Serpentine premiere and ahead of its international tour, CRUSHfanzine spoke with one half of the duo about collaboration and moving through different contexts.
Nicolas Vamvouklis: How do you know Davi?
Wallace Ferreira: We first met in Rio in 2018, after following each other on Instagram, when he invited me to perform an early version of Repertório.
NV: What do you each bring into the work?
WF: We’ve been working together for seven years, always respecting our individuality. Each of us brings what the work needs in that moment.
NV: How would you describe Repertório N.1 in five words?
WF: Practice, choreography, self-defence, patience, strategy.
NV: What role does nudity play in your performances?
WF: It’s a non-negotiable element. Without it, the work can’t happen.
NV: Do you have any pre-show rituals?
WF: Warming up my body and activating my listening.
NV: And how do you come down after a performance?
WF: I take a shower and, when possible, a long bath.
NV: What will you remember most from the Serpentine premiere?
WF: We had a full house on both nights. I’ll never forget the feeling of discovering the work together with the audience.
NV: And what do you enjoy most about touring this piece?
WF: I’m very happy to get to know different countries and cultures through my work.
NV: Favourite city to get lost in?
WF: There’s no place like Rio de Janeiro.
NV: If your life had a soundtrack, what song would have to be on it?
WF: “Pense como uma diva” by AJULIACOSTA and Maffalda.
NV: Is there a talent you wish you had?
WF: I’d like to be a painter.
NV: Any all-time crushes you’d care to confess?
WF: I’m a Libra – that’s not an easy question to answer.
