Bruno Beltrão began to dance at the age of 13, taking dance classes, watching video clips and studying everyday movements. Some years later, in 1996, he jointly founded Grupo de Rua de Niterói which, in the beginning, mainly devoted itself to dance competitions and performances at festivals and on TV. While remaining close to the street, the collective began to explore ways of transposing street dance to the stage, gradually focusing on pushing hip-hop beyond its own limits. In 2000, Bruno Beltrão studied art history and philosophy at the University of Rio de Janeiro before returning as sole director of Grupo de Rua. The group has created eight shows that have been presented in 30 countries and 110 cities: From Popping to Pop and Me and my choreographer in 63 with the dancer Eduardo Hermanson (2001) then Too Legit to Quit (2002), Telesquat (2003), H2 (2005) and H3 (2008), and Crackz (2013). Bruno Beltrão was named Revelation of the Year 2006 by the German magazine Ballettanz, and was given a Bessie Award in New York in 2010.
Bruno Beltrão
In the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro, Bruno Beltrão, with his company Grupo de Rua Niterói, combines language, gesture, and street rituals with the codes of contemporary dance. Drawing inspiration from urban dance in general and hip-hop in particular, he breaks away from conventional structures and stereotypes, opening up unexplored terrain and new approaches to the disciplines of dance.
