The indie film production company, Conspirarcao, is in the work of creating a Pas de Deux series to highlight the 70s Black Feminist Movement according to Variety. The series will highlight the first Brazilian prima ballerina of the Harlem Dance Theatre and modern-day instructor there.
“Brazil is still very racist even though Blacks comprise around 50% of our population,” says Conspiracao’s Kids and Family executive director, Juliana Capelini (Terra Prometida) via Variety.
The anticipated eight-hour series will revolve around the relationship Bethania Gomes, the Brazilian prima ballerina, and her mother Maria Beatriz Nascimento. Gomes’s mother is well-known for contributing to the 70s Black Feminist Movement, who later was killed intervening in a friend’s domestic incident.
Growing up in Brazil, Gomes had a passion for dancing and made her way throughout the United States, France, South Africa, and other international areas. Her notable career performances are with Prince (Raspberry Beret) and notable icons like Nelson Mandela (Long Walk to Freedom) and Bill Clinton (The President is Missing).
The series is currently in development via daily three-hour zoom calls, due to COVID-19 restrictions. Although, it is nothing new for the Conspiracao production since they had to just production protocols for their other project, Anitta.
Currently, the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Theater Ballet has not had a Black Prima Ballerina since Gomes. The Pas de Deux series currently has no set release date, cast members, or television network deal.