Bradesco writes Brazilian dances into sheet music for the first time — Dancebook Brasil

Dances have been written down around the world for more than a century — but Brazil's own dance traditions never had been. In April 2026, Bradesco launched Dancebook Brasil with choreographer Carlinhos de Jesus to close that gap: for the first time, rhythms such as samba, frevo, toada and chula were translated into choreographic scores using the Benesh method, the international dance notation widely used by European ballet companies.

The translation was carried out by a team of dancers and specialists under Carlinhos de Jesus, with the technical and curatorial work of choreologist Johanna Classe — a rare profession, since few people worldwide can write Benesh notation. Agency Lovely turned the scores into a physical book and a digital edition, with photography by Mauricio Nahas and in-depth texts on each dance, its cultural context and choreographic character. Even the layout was designed so the text appears to dance across the pages.

The dances chosen connect directly to cultural territories Bradesco supports, such as Carnival, the Parintins festival and the Acampamento Farroupilha. With a special print run, the book was placed in important dance archives worldwide, including the Royal Academy of Dance in London, so Brazilian dance now sits in formal circuits of registration and preservation alongside classical ballet scores.

Carlinhos de Jesus called the book the respect and visibility dance had been seeking: 'What always lived in the body now comes to exist on paper.' The work won a Gold Lion in Design (Books) and a Bronze in Industry Craft (Art Direction) at Cannes Lions 2026, with four shortlists overall.