Maria Duschenes

Maria Duschenes (1922-2014) was born in Hungary and came to Brazil due to World War II. She brought with her vast knowledge and experience in dance. In São Paulo, she shared the methods of Emile Jaques Dalcroze (1865-1950) and Rudolf Laban (1879-1958), interrelating the arts and accentuating the body-mind connection.

“Dona Maria” (Ms. Duschenes), as she was affectionately called by her students, always sought to provide dance for everyone; she believed that it shouldn’t be work for “a few” in search of perfection, but rather a tool for self-awareness and group integration.

Some Dance Choirs, events bringing together different people, each one with their own movement repertoire, stand out in Dona Maria’s career. Among them are The Night Ship (1989), which took place at the São Paulo Cultural Center as part of the celebration of 110 years of Laban; Origins I (1990), which brought together 150 people on the stage of the São Paulo Municipal Drama; and Origins II (1991), when she was honored during São Paulo’s 21^st International Biennial.

During the Origins II Dance Choir, two performances were carried out, which took place outdoors at Denise Milan’s Slice of Earth exhibit at Ibirapuera Park: one performance for children, with at least 100 children, and the other, a professional performance. This event was conceived and organized by Maria Mommensohn, Daraína (Tuca) Pregnolato, Renata Macedo Soares, and Solange Arruda.