Balleteatro celebrates 40 years with shows, concerts, and debates

balleteatro, in Porto, marks its 40th anniversary this year with a set of shows, performance cycles, concerts, chats, debates, and masterclasses dedicated to contemporary poetics in the arts, the institution announced. Most activities will be free to attend.

In a statement cited by Lusa, the artistic organization highlighted that February, the month in which it was founded, will be marked with the premiere of the show “Distante - Paisagens, Máquinas, Animais”, by Né Barros, the third piece of the cycle “Paisagens, Máquinas, Animais”, which began with “IO” and was followed by “NEVE”.

“Distante”, with music by Alexandre Soares and scenography by studio FAHR 021.3, is set to premiere on February 17, at the Rivoli, at 7:30 pm, and will also be presented at the Municipal Theatre of Bragança on February 24 at 9:00 pm.

The cycle entitled “O Mundo e as Artes” will also begin in February. Defragmentar”, which for three days - 2, 3, and 6 - aims to create “an immersive moment of reflection through philosophical conversations, masterclasses, debates, and the screening of documentaries that contribute to the thinking about the arts and the world in its current state, as well as the understanding of the responsibilities in contemporary times and the respective role of the arts”.

From March 13 to 14, balleteatro will continue the cycle of presentations of works by emerging artists and future creators, a cycle whose goal is to support artists in the creation and dissemination of their projects.

From April 21 to 30, “Corpo + Cidade” returns to Porto, Vila Nova de Gaia, and Matosinhos to present performances in the public space, in an edition which is, as usual, inserted in the DDD Festival - Dance Days programme.

“Extemporânea” is the premiere of the new festival of performances and performative installations that will take place, in this first edition, at the Porto Botanical Garden, on June 3 and 4.

Also in June, on the 14th, balleteatro will promote a day of multidisciplinary activities which are aimed at different audiences. This programme includes open classes, a show with the senior community of the Monte Pedral Association, and a concert.

Two new events will be scheduled during the year: Online Residencies, aimed at choreographers, dancers, and performers; an event that hopes to create an online archive for the investigation and documentation of transmission processes, and the capture of dance practices.

At the same time, an online platform named “Mnemónica” will be launched, and this consists of coordinating and editing contributions from critics and theorists of artists or invited theorists, as well as from the general public for a more expanded and transversal reflection.

In September, to mark the beginning of a new school year, the students of the Balleteatro Dance and Theatre classes will give a show with origins in the creation laboratories, and will include several invited artists.

October will be dedicated to cinema, with the 12th Edition of the Family Film Project.

The anniversary celebrations continue in November at the National Museum of Soares dos Reis, with a book launch and the show “IO”.

Founded in 1983, balleteatro was fundamentally about creation, forging the first contemporary dance company in Porto. Additionally, balleteatro also focused on training in dance and theatre, an area it continues to develop to this day.