Check out this wonderful in-depth article about my frevo master, Otávio Bastos, and his teaching method, Mexe Com Tudo. The article was written by journalist Paula Passos for Recife’s Revista Continente.
The article discusses Otávio’s incredible trajectory as an artist and teacher, including some personal hardships that he has pushed through. His method, Mexe Com Tudo, arises from his own frevo master Nascimento do Passo’s “frevo cinquentão” modality, which roughly translates to “frevo for the 50 and up.” Mexe Com Tudo is about finding other forms of beauty than what might be promoted by Western aesthetics, and not dancing for other people’s tastes, but for one’s own pleasure and self-expression.
Diferente de outros métodos de frevo, em que, ao final, é feita uma roda e cada integrante dança no meio do círculo, o professor do Mexe com Tudo defende que quem está ali não precisa dançar para os olhos do outro e, sim, para os seus. “Por isso que o nome é Mexe com Tudo, porque a ideia é mexer não apenas o corpo, mas também por dentro,” explica Bastos.
Various members of the Mexe Com Tudo community were also interviewed, including myself! I spoke to Passos to offer my perspective on frevo as a foreign scholar and specifically on Mexe Com Tudo as someone teaching this method in the United States. I’m proud to be part of this international community of dancers and mungangeiros!