“Munganga é resistência. A vontade de sempre reconciliar contradições—intelectuais ou corporais—está ligada à tendência de encaixotar pessoas e culturas. Muitas vezes, a noção de ‘tradição’ serve para definir identidades culturais, especialmente em comunidades ameaçadas. Mas é importante entender que essas regras também existem para que os artistas possam quebrá-las.”
– “Munganga e a Redescoberta da Expressão na Dança Irlandesa: Diálogos entre o Frevo e uma Tradição Globalizada”, presented by Kate Spanos at Comhaltas Brasil Féile 2025
Earlier this month, at the annual Comhaltas Brasil Féile offered virtually out of Campinas, São Paulo, I participated in a seminar organized by scholars of Irish music in Brazil. The Comhaltas Brasil Féile is a festival that brings together Irish music and dance lovers from across Brazil, creating a vibrant space for sharing, learning, and celebrating these traditions in new contexts. In addition to presenting a paper, I also taught a class focused on festival style Irish dance. I was happy to be a part of it and share a bit of my journey as a North American dancer and researcher, with my “home” in Irish dance and a love and appreciation for the dances of Brazil.
In my paper, I shared how my journey as an Irish dancer and researcher led me down a path (albeit circuitous) to frevo in Recife, Brazil, and how frevo’s concept of “munganga” transformed my approach to Irish dance. While Irish dance is known for its structure and strict rules, frevo celebrates improvisation and creative freedom. Through my training with various frevo groups over the past few years, I have learned that “munganga” means embracing mistakes, adapting in the moment, and valuing personal expression as much as technique.
This philosophy helped me break away from the fear of “breaking tradition” in Irish dance. Now, I feel more freedom to experiment and play, blending the discipline of Irish dance with the spontaneity of dances like frevo, and I bring this approach to my classes as well. I believe this dialogue opens up new possibilities for creativity and self-expression while maintaining that critical connection to tradition—always a delicate balance!