Vera Mantero
The Thinking Body
A workshop in Composition / Interpretation.
Relaxation, the use of voice, writing, breathing and free association are some means to be used in this workshop in order to find the movements, actions, structures and desires of composition that are currently inside us. We will explore some of them separately in order to incorporate them later in longer and more complex improvisational processes or even in composition processes. Equally important will be the particular states of consciousness, the attention to exterior and interior signals (awareness), the use of space and the exploration of objects and materials. Irony and empty hands will take us further.
Vera Mantero’s biography:
Vera Mantero studied classical dance until 18 years old and danced in the Gulbenkian Ballet (Lisbon) between 1984 and 1989. She started choreographing in 1987, and since 1991 has been presenting her work all over Europe, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Canada, Singapore, South Korea and the USA. She teaches regularly composition and improvisation in Portugal and abroad. Since 2000 she has also been exploring vocal work and co-creating experimental music projects. She represented Portugal at the 26th São Paulo Art Biennial 2004 together with the sculptor Rui Chafes with the co-creation “Eating your heart out”. Her artistic work has been recognised with institutional awards such as the Prémio Almada (Ministry of Culture – 2002) or the Prémio Gulbenkian Arte for her career as creator and performer (2009).
“For me, dance is not a given fact. I believe that the less I acquire it, the closer I will be to it. I use and perform work to understand what I need to understand. I don’t see any sense anymore in a performer specialised in a single discipline (a dancer or an actor or a singer or a musician) and I now see some sense in a performer specialised in the whole. Life is a terribly complicated and rich phenomenon and I see the work I do as a continuous fight against the impoverishment of the spirit, both mine and others, a fight that I consider essential now and always.” -Vera Mantero
Dates and times:
October 27 – 31
Monday to Friday
10:00 – 13:00 and 14:30 – 17:30
Price:
80 € registration fee
360 € total
