For a Timeline to Be
— Geneaologies of dance as artistic practice in Portugal
An ongoing collective exhibition research project curated by choreographer João Santos Martins, whose work has been intersecting the archeology of choreographic artifacts of dance repertoire and their operativeness in the present time, choreographer Carlos Manuel Oliveira, who dedicates himself to the critique of the relationship between choreography and dance as well as to the modes of existence of the knowledge to them associated, and historian and performance studies scholar Ana Bigotte Vieira, who has dedicated herself to cultural history and the role of art in shaping the social sphere.
It proposes a singular construction of chronologies that attempt to showcase 20th/early 21st century milestones in the emergence of dance as an art practice in Portugal, displaying events in relation to transformations in society and choreographic discourse.
While simultaneously inciting the discussion and the recollection of information concerning dance as an artistic practice in Portugal, the exhibition FOR A TIMELINE TO BE is a major tool for collaborative investigation. Based on bibliographical research and oral history inquiry involving dancers, choreographers, critics, technicians, historians and spectators, it intersects key social, political, cultural, biographical and artistic events. Gathering side-by-side discussions on choreographic discourse and key transformations in Portuguese, European and Global society, this project aims at exposing potential tensions, uncovering consensual and non consensual pivotal events and iconic occurrences, while simultaneously fostering comparative analysis from the point of view of decentered modernities / uneven and combined development.
This exercise proposes to highlight historical events that – through their influence upon authors, practices and institutions – came to frame the history of dance in Portugal. Hence, by exploring and displaying these occurrences at the crossroads of different periodization narratives, several ‘modernities’ appear, paving the way for multiples understandings of our current situated kinetic condition.
⌂ TECHNICAL INFO
Curatorship, research and edition: Ana Bigotte Vieira, João dos Santos Martins and Carlos Manuel OliveiraReserach support: Pedro Cerejo, Sílvia Pinto Coelho
Design: Ana Schefer e Teo Furtado
Set up: Pedro Lagoa
Production: Associação Parasita
Supports: República Portuguesa: Cultura/ DGArtes Direção-Geral das Artes, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Teatro Sá da Bandeira - Santarém, Teatro Viriato, Livraria Tigre de Papel
Partnerships: Instituto de História Contemporânea, Centro de Estudos de Teatro
Acknolodgements: Paula Caspão, Maria José Fazenda, Daniel Tércio, Maria João Brilhante, Luísa Roubaud
Contributors: Alexandra Balona, Ana Cristina Vicente, Ana Mira, André e. Teodósio, António Cascais, António Laginha, Cristiana Rocha, Cristina Grande, Cristina Santos, Daniel Tércio, Duarte Bénard da Costa, Elisabete Paiva, Ezequiel Santos, Gil Mendo, Joclécio Azevedo, Luísa Roubaud, Magda Henriques, Margarida Bettencourt, Maria José Fazenda, Mariana Brandão, Mariana Pinto dos Santos, Mónica Guerreiro, Paula Caspão, Rita Natálio, Rogério Nuno Costa, Sílvia Pinto Coelho, Tiago Bartolomeu Costa