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José Maria Carvalho performing within a painted stage environment.

Mentor / Source S02

José Maria Carvalho

Dancer, director, dance researcher, and somatic educator

José Maria Carvalho is a mentor and source for MSA's inquiry into dance, improvisation, somatic education, and the forces and affects that shape movement.

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José Maria Carvalho in performance

About

Practice shaped through attention and inquiry.

José Maria Carvalho is a dancer, director, dance researcher, and somatic educator based in São Paulo. He opened Espaço Viver Dança e Cia in 1985 and has directed Viver Núcleo de Dança since 2001, developing artistic and educational work through classes, research, and choreographic practice.

From 1980 to 1989, José Maria studied and worked with Klauss Vianna. His ongoing research applies Feldenkrais somatic education to dance and investigates how forces, affects, perception, and movement participate in the creation of choreographic language.

Within MSA, he contributes senior guidance on the relationship between somatic learning and dance-making, the living transmission of Brazilian movement research, and the development of rigorous practice through sustained inquiry.

Classes & courses

Ways to enter the practice.

Class / Intensive

Somatic Education for Dance

Movement study connecting Feldenkrais-informed somatic learning with coordination, perception, and the demands of dance practice.

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Studio Lab

Improvisation and Choreographic Research

Practice-led investigation of movement choices, compositional attention, improvisation, and the emergence of choreographic language.

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Course / Workshop

Body, Force, and Affect

An embodied inquiry into how force, sensation, attention, and affect shape presence, relation, and movement expression.

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Research / Mentorship

Viver Núcleo Artistic Mentoring

Dialogue and guidance for dancers and movement researchers developing independent processes, works, and long-term practices.

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Research

Questions carried through practice.

  1. Feldenkrais-informed somatic education applied to dance practice

  2. The living influence of Klauss Vianna's movement research and pedagogy

  3. Forces, affects, perception, and the formation of choreographic language

  4. Improvisation, contemporary dance, and sustained artistic research

Archive & references

Selected records from the work.

Artist biography and project record

Ensaios Coreográficos II

TUSP's record of José Maria's career, study with Klauss Vianna, direction of Viver Núcleo de Dança, and somatic dance research.Visit source

Program archive

José Maria Carvalho at Fundação Japão

A collection of Fundação Japão records documenting José Maria's participation in dance and cultural programs.Visit source

Work with José Maria Carvalho

Start with a conversation.

Ask about classes, courses, research collaborations, visiting formats, or access to further archive materials.

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