PROJECT

De Marfim e carne

A “grotesque ball” of mechanical puppets or stone statues that come to life against a background of shrill and percussive music, de marfim e carne (of ivory and flesh) reveals a very personal world filled with references passing by at full speed. References – think of the modernist avant-gardes of the early 20th century in particular – whose ambiguity however is exposed in contemporary issues. Like an echo of Pygmalion breathing life into his statue of Galatea, the choreographer seems to be suggesting that only sensitivity, desire and love can stop our bodies from becoming enslaved.

Marlene Monteiro Freitas

1979 ◊ CB

Marlene Monteiro Freitas is from Cabo Verde, where she co-founded the Compass dance group, and collaborated with musician Vasco Martins. After dance studies at P.A.R.T.S. in Brussels, and at E.S.D. and Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon, she developed a project with the Cova da Moura community in Lisbon entitled we will not have dance classes, we will rehearse. Her other dance creations include de marfim e de carne – as estátuas também sofrem (2014); Paradise – private collection (2012-2013); (M)imosa (2011), a project developed with Trajal Harell, François Chaignaud, and Cecila Bengolea; Guintche (2010); A Seriedade do Animal (2009-2010); Uns e Outros (2008); A Improbabilidade da Certeza (2006); Larvar (2006); and Primeira Impressão (2005). The common denominator in these works is openness, impurity, and intensity. Marlene Monteiro Freitas has worked with Emmanuelle Huynn, Loic Touzé, Tânia Carvalho, and Boris Charmatz, among others.

Credits

Choreography: Marlene Monteiro Freitas◊Performance: Marlene Monteiro Freitas, Andreas Merk, Betty Tchomanga, Lander Patrick, Cookie (percursion), Tomás Moital (percursion), Miguel Filipe (percursion)◊Light and space: Yannick Fouassier◊Music: Cookie (percursion), Tiago Cerqueira (edition and sound)◊Research: João Francisco Figueira, Marlene Monteiro Freitas◊Production: Bomba Suicida, Lisbon (PT)◊Co-production: O Espaço do Tempo, Montemor-o-Novo (PT), Alkantara Festival, Lisbon (PT), Maria Matos Teatro Municipal, Lisbon (PT), Bomba Suicida, Lisbon, CCN Rillieux-la-pape (FR), Musée de la danse, Rennes (FR), Centre Pompidou, Paris (FR), Festival Montpellier Danse 2014, Montpellier (FR), ARCADI, Paris (FR), le CDC - centre de développement chorégraphique de Toulouse/Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse (FR), Théâtre National de Bordeaux en Aquitaine, Bordeaux (FR), Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Bruxelas (BE), WP Zimmer, Antwerp (BE), NXTSTP (with the support of the EU Culture Programme)◊With the support of: Companhia Clara Andermatt◊Acknowledgements: Staresgrime (PT)