Four days of the DDD Festival - Days of the Dance (Dias da Dança)

The DDD Festival - Days of the Dance Festival, which begins this Thursday, 27 April, includes activities at different times and in various geographical areas within the municipalities of the Atlantic Front.

The kick-off of the Festival is at Teatro Nacional São João, at 9:30 pm, with the premiere of "Muros", choreographed by Né Barros.

This performance relates to a dance journey to body and identity, intertwined with notions of race and territorial scope.

At a particularly critical time for migration issues, this performance is a starting point for considering the superior artistic qualities of diverse cultures, at different times and in various latitudes.

From Friday to Saturday, the "Caravane", a touring project designed by the Centre National de la Danse (France), begins its first stop in Porto.

Jointly with the Municipal Theatre of Porto, a cycle of activities unfolds at Rivoli and the Theatre of Bolhão, disclosing to the public the patrimonial, pedagogical and artistic work of the Centre national de la Danse that will then head to Buenos Aires.

The two-day event includes workshops such as the "Repertory of Alain Buffard" and "The autobiographical memories of the body", by Mathieu Doze; an outdoor workshop with Noé Soulier in D. João I Square; a meeting with Aymar Crosnier; the "Making Bodies" conference of Noé Soulier; two movie sessions; an exhibition curated by Marc Domage and the Media Library; and one night dedicated to the performance of DJ Bem Dover.

At Teatro do Bolhão, Noé Soulier presents "Faits et Gestes" on Friday, a show that derives actions from their usual context and significance.

The dancers focus on the way one gesture may suggest another, referring to something that is beyond itself, even when unidentifiable: actions oriented towards a practical goal, abstract choreographic sequences and communicative gestures.

The music of baroque songwriter Jakob Froberger draws a parallel with movement and musical shapes that demand meaning, although they do not have a defined meaning.

In the Attic Hall of Coliseu Porto, Marianne Baillot debuts "Paper Less Paper Dress", a deconstructivity and burlesque style solo, where bodily figures or fused in the landscape must perform impossible tasks. 

Saturday, 29 April is World Dance Day. Time for the perfect day.

Ricardo Machado & Anna Réti feature "Point of You" at Mala Voadora venue in Porto, a personal and philosophical design about truth, coexistence, encounters, and possible conflicts resulting from different viewpoints in concurrent realities.

The DDD also reaches Matosinhos, at the Constantino-Nery Theatre, for the second show of the project "Sete Anos Sete Peças" by Cláudia Dias, featuring "Tuesday: Everything that is solid dissolves in the air", jointly with Luca Bellezze. 

It is a performance about the world hanging by a thread, a dotted line connecting two bodies in a cartoon like atmosphere.

The return of Maguy Marin

The long-awaited Maguy Marin Contemporary Dance Company is in Porto 24 years following return from its last visit to the city, showcasing "BiT".

Celebrate World Dance Day extends long through the night, to mix and mingle to the sound of music by DJs D.M.A. (Disco My Ass) at the DDD Meeting Point that will officially inaugurate the refurbished Café Rivoli.

In the first weekend of the DDD Festival, young choreographer Ana Renata Polónia debuts "Yeborath" at Teatro Campo Alegre, a solo where she plays a female character in search of a "liquid" state that floats between reality and imagination.

All DDD programming is dovetailed so as to allow attendance in all performances.

See here for more info and tickets.