Cassi Abranches
About this Artist
Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Cassi Abranches began her dance studies in 1982 at Escola Municipal de Bailados, SP. As a dancer, Cassi performed with Brazil's Raça Cia de Dança, Balé do Teatro Castro Alves and Balé do Teatro Guaíra, before she joined Grupo Corpo in 2001, where she danced until 2013.
As a choreographer, Cassi has created numerous works for Grupo Corpo that have toured the world. Other creations include Contracapa (2009) – Ballet Jovem Palácio das Artes, Belo Horizonte; Ariana (2013) – Cia Jovem Bolshoi Brasil; Oblivion (2013) – Cia Sesc de Dança, Belo Horizonte; Plano (2014) – Cia Sesc de Dança, Belo Horizonte; Gen (2014) – São Paulo Cia de Dança; Ensejo (2015) - Cia Jovem Bolshoi Brasil and Suíte Branca (2015) for Grupo Corpo.
Besides her work for dance companies, Cassi has choreographed for film, commercials and music videos, including the creation of Pas-de-Deux from the movie Rio, I Love You. She was Director of Movement and Choreographer of Rio 2016 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony.
In June, 2019, Cassi's Agora, was premiered by São Paolo Cia de Dança and then toured to the Moviemento Festival in Wolfsburg, Germany. Agora received the APCA Award 2019 in Sao Paolo for Best Choreography/Creation. In November 2020, Cassi created Respiro, her response to lockdown for São Paolo Cia de Dança which premiered at Teatro Alfa and on line. That same year, Cassi virtually staged a pas de deux from A Rosa, performed by Erdem Sandakov and Haruka Yamada of the Buryat State Ballet in Ulan-Ude for Bolshoi Ballet on Culture Channel, Russia.
Productions in 2023 included Me despido, a creation for Ballet Nacional Chileno and Black Sabbath - The Ballet for Birmingham Royal Ballet for which she contributed a section to this critically acclaimed new ballet which toured to the Holland Dance Festival, Hamburg and Luxemburg in 2024 and to the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC in 2025.
In 2024, Cassi was a Jury Member for the Stuttgart Solo Competition in Germany and creating a new work to the music of Philip Glass in Rome.
From September 2021 through May, 2023, Cassi was the Artistic Director of Balé da Cidade de São Paulo in Brazil. More recently, her newest work, Motriz, received Brazil's top APCA award for Best Dance Performance of 2022.
In 2023/24, Cassi was named Resident Choreographer for Brazil's Grupo Corpo. Upcoming creations in 25/26 include a new work for Ballet Hispanico in New York City.