We visited the Teatro da Paz in Belém to see if it would work for a visit by the Battery Dance Company, which we hope to bring to Belém in April. It does. This will be a great venue for the dancers. Now my only worry is that they will really come. I am reasonably sure that they will, but it depends on a decision by ECA.
The Teatro is similar to the Amazonas Theater in Manaus, but it was built about twenty years earlier. It is in the same tradition of bringing opera to the Amazon. Both are beautiful theaters and both are a bit of a folly. They tried so hard to be part of the cultured world of the time. Well, I suppose it was like building a stadium might be today. They figured that every important town needed one.
You can see the view from the stage of the theater in the top picture. The others are the curtains and the rehearsal area.
We visited the BNC in Belém in time to see the investiture of the new president. The Belém BNC is well established and prosperous. They have six branches, including one in Santarem, which is very far away up the Amazon. I wonder if they could open a branch in Macapá, which is actually a bit closer, although in a different state.
The BNC has a really great facility with its own theater, which you see above and an exhibit space, which you see below. BNCs face serious completion from schools that just teach English and English is the way they make their money. But BNCs are much more. They do the educational advising, sponsor art and give lots of free scholarships. I am trying to support BNCs in any way we can for that reason.
