Founded in Brazil in 2004-05 by dancer Tiago Sousa and choreographer and artistic director Sonia Destri Lie, Companhia Urbana de Dança is an ensemble of street performers working to foster the human experience through dance. Destri’s boldly original mix of contemporary Brazilian dance and hip-hop infused both forms with new rigor, meditative one moment and explosive the next. Locating the true heart of hip-hop, Destri strips it of its easy tricks and brings it back to its original emotional depth, expressive range, and poetic integrity.

The work of Companhia Urbana de Dança brings its dancers’ identities, testimonials, and attitudes to the stage, and it does that with a “carioca,” Afro-Brazilian accent, which is nevertheless universal. The group is firmly positioned in the most contemporary urban dance scene in Brazil and internationally. It highlights the talents of young black, and poor Brazilians in the modern world, from and affirming and pluralist stance.

When Companhia Urbana de Dança made its US debut at New York City Center in 2010, even the eyes of even the most ‘‘been-there-saw-that’’ critics opened wide with amazement.