Two dancers from the Cia de Dança do Pantanal (Pantanal Dance Company) performed, last weekend, on the stage of Caldeirão com Mion, broadcast on TV Globo. Agustín Salcedo and Frantielly Khadija Icassatt performed the ‘Duo de Onças’ (‘Jaguar Duo’), part of the choreography from the show Guadakan, premiered by the Company in 2022. The performance was in the ‘Caldeirola’ segment.

‌The Duo de Onças showcases the full grandeur of the largest feline in the Americas and brings attention to the care needed for the planet’s largest floodable plain, the Pantanal. Inspired by a Guató myth, the show conveys the message of the need to conserve the Pantanal, especially after the 2020 fires, the largest ever recorded in the region, which killed nearly 17 million vertebrate animals.

‌For dancer Agustín Salcedo, performing on the show was an incredible experience. “Every moment was unique. Going to the Globo studios, seeing the dressing room, the stage where everything happens, and also being backstage where there are so many people involved making it happen. It’s all wonderful,” recalls the Cia de Dança do Pantanal member.

Marcos Mion, the host, praised the pair of dancers. Photo: Personal Archive

‌Salcedo says the most important thing was having the opportunity to bring the work of the Cia de Dança do Pantanal and the importance of preservation to more people. “I was very happy with our performance, and even more so to have the opportunity to represent the Pantanal, bringing the importance of nature preservation to all of Brazil. I believe that art transforms,” he concluded.

‌Executive director of Moinho Cultural (Cultural Mill) and artistic director of the Cia de Dança do Pantanal, Márcia Rolon highlights the importance of reaching more and more people with the work developed by the company from Mato Grosso do Sul.

‌“The Cia de Dança do Pantanal was born on the border between Brazil and Bolivia, in the middle of the Pantanal of Mato Grosso do Sul, but always with the goal of bringing its art and its messages to every corner. Having this opportunity to reach so many people at once and show all the suffering of the Pantanal in recent years fills us with joy and reinforces our purpose,” she said.