A sensitive and powerful dance through the words of Ailton Krenak to imagine another way of inhabiting the world and to be dazzled by being alive.

Life is not useful (or it is what it is) is a danced lecture, springing from the encounter between choreographer Bruno Freire and the words of Ailton Krenak, one of the most important political voices in contemporary Brazil. In his publication “Life is not useful”, he asserts that life is an experience of wonder that cannot be reduced to its utilitarian dimension. Haunted by the power of these words, Bruno Freire dances to Krenak’s text as if it were a musical score, inviting us – through a unique listening experience – to feel it in our flesh.

A philosopher and Indigenous activist, Ailton Krenak offers a critique of contemporary urban society. Convinced that it is more urgent to listen to those who care for the forest rather than those who destroy it, Bruno Freire takes us inside his questioning. How can we face the climate catastrophe without falling into anxiety and melancholy? Letting himself be carried by the sound and meaning of the words, he brings Krenak’s thoughts to life, initiating a dance to delay the end of the world.

Life is not useful (or it is what it is) is the second part of a diptych devoted by the artist to his research on wonder. Alone in the middle of a stripped-down stage, he gives body and voice to a moving reflection on life. By confronting us with the ravages caused by Western society, he questions our habits as “eaters of the planet”. What if it were the non-usefulness of life that made it so precious? What if the sole purpose of our time on Earth was simply to be alive?