Celebration programme of the 35th anniversary of Companhia de Dança de Almada
27 september 2025, Teatro Municipal Joaquim Benite (premiere)
In the year in which we celebrate 35 years since the founding of Companhia de Dança de Almada, we present a special program. Several choreographers who, in some way, have collaborated with the company over the years, contribute to it. In this project, in addition to the usual Ca.DA artistic team, former dancers from the company, students/dancers and an intergenerational group who work at Ca.DA school also participate.
The theme of the piece is related to “the pleasure of dancing”. We have a history of practicing dance and we know that we do it because we believe in its artistic and communicative potential. And also for the pleasure it brings us, not just in its practice but in its appreciation. We wanted to bring to the stage the way we perceive feelings of satisfaction and joy related to participating in a dance class, rehearsal or performance.
Concept and Artistic Direction: Ana Macara
Choreography: Bruno Duarte, Inês Pedruco, Catarina Casqueiro & Tiago Coelho, Margarida Belo Costa and Ana Macara
Musical Direction: Carlos Gomes
Costumes and Scenography: Joana Veloso and Carlota Machado
Light Design: Stageplot
Ana Macara has been a dancer and choreographer, worked on independent projects as a freelancer, directed Grupo de Dança Atitudes e Movimentos (1983-87) and later the 4º Colectivo Dance Company (2007-2014). For the Almada Dance Company he created "Sol, Memória, Corpos de Luz", "Dependências", "Pulos na rua com os pés na Lua", "Asas e Carapaças, Hastes e Barbatanas" and "Elevado a 4", among other pieces. Having completed her master's and doctorate in 1989 and 1994 respectively, she is now retired as an Associate Professor with Aggregation from the Faculty of Human Motricity of the University of Lisbon, where she worked from 1983 to 2016. She was coordinator of the Dance Department from 2002 to 2009 and of the MA in Performing Arts at the FMH-UTL from 2008-2014. She is currently a researcher at the Institute of Musicology - Music and Dance (INET-MD) and the Centre for Studies in Performing Arts at FMH - University of Lisbon. She has edited several books and published various articles on dance, choreography and artistic education. In 2004 she received the Lawther Award from the UNCG (USA) for her career as a dance professional. She has been the artistic co-director of Quinzena de Dança de Almada - International Dance Festival since 1992 and has been a consultant for Companhia de Dança de Almada since 1990.
Bruno Duarte is a doctoral candidate in Contemporary Art at the University of Coimbra, with a master's degree in Dance Education and a degree in Dance from ESD. He was a performer with Grupo Experimental de Dança (2011/2) and Quorum Ballet (2013). He has been a member of the Almada Dance Company since 2013. He was co-producer and performer in the video dance ‘P48’ (2012) and ‘5’ (2013), which won the award for best video dance - audience choice at InShadow. He has taken part in workshops and seminars with Mikael Fau and Pauline Journé (France), João da Silva (Brazil), Siri Dybwik (Norway), Jack Gallagher (USA) and David Zambrano (Venezuela), among others. He choreographed ‘Metamorfose’ (2011/2), for Culturgest, ‘someone else ago’ (2013) for CCB's BOXNOVA,, ‘L'Veltro’ (2016), with Elson Marlon Ferreira, ‘Blömma’ (2021) for Estufa, and with Companhia de Dança de Almada, ‘Riot’ (2014), “Gaveston” (2016), “Fobos” (2017), “A Invenção da Resposta” (2018), with Luís Malaquias, “SubRosa” (2018), “Inverno” (2019), “Noir”, “A Quiet Moment” (2020), and “Carbono” (2022). In this company, he is also the author of the Itinerant Choreographic Laboratory project, for which he created ‘Dentro do Abraço’ (2016) and ‘SCENA’ (2022). As a choreographer and dance teacher, he has been part of the European projects CLASH! (2019/21) and Up2DANCE (2020/21). He has taught workshops at venues such as Beijing Dance Theatre (China), Giro8 Companhia de Dança (Brazil), FreeDance (Croatia), DNA (Portugal). He is a guest teacher at Escola Superior de Dança (2016 and 2019), a teacher at Ca.DA Escola, and a guest choreographer at the Quorum Project. He was awarded the Almada Artes - Young Talent prize in the Young Talent Competition 2019, organised by Almada Town Council.
Catarina Casqueiro and Tiago Coelho have been a contemporary dance duo since 2019, known for their unique and innovative approach. In recent years, they have presented their creations at various festivals, both national and international, receiving praise from critics and the public. Their performances include the Almada Dance Fortnight (Lisbon, Portugal), Masdanza (Canary Islands), the International Choreography Competition in Hanover (Germany) and the StrayBirds Dance Platform (Taiwan). In 2021, they were invited by the Almada Dance Company to create the closing show of the Almada Dance Fortnight, where they premiered “Deux Same”. In 2022, they continued to solidify their artistic career, presenting “Matiik” on international stages such as the Jerusalem International Dance Competition (Israel) and the Daejeon New Dance International Festival (South Korea) and SoloDuo where they received an Audience Award. “Matomari No Nai” premiered at the SoloDuo Festival in Cologne (Germany) and has since been performed internationally. The piece was presented at the 31st Quinzena de Dança de Almada (Portugal), at the Linkage International Choreography Competition (Bulgaria), where it won 3rd place and the Audience Award, and at the Straybirds Dance Platform (Taiwan). This creation also won 1st place at the Prospettiva Danza Teatro International Competition in Padua (Italy). Catarina and Tiago also took part in the Teatri Riflessi festival in Sicily, where they won seven prizes, including 1st place, the Audience Prize and the Critic's Prize. Their international tour continued with performances in Sibenik (Croatia) and Mexico City. They recently took part in the 29th edition of the MasDanza Festival (Spain), which granted them an invitation to take part in the Interplay Festival in Turin, scheduled for 2025. In 2024 they received support from the European Fund for Emerging Artists in collaboration with the Companhia de Dança de Almada for the creation of their recent piece "Forget me not", presented at Quinzena de Dança de Almada and at Aerowaves in Sofia (Bulgaria).
Inês Pedruco, is the founder and Artistic Director of the AZA Dance Programme in 2024. She is a PhD student in Dance at FMH and has a master's degree in Dance Teaching from the ESD. She studied at theDance Schools of Ana Mangericão and of the National Conservatory, where she obtained a merit diploma as a Professional Dancer (2002-09). In 2009 she was a semi-finalist in the ‘Prix de Lausanne’ international competition, winning a scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet School in New York. She studied with Sharon Eyal (2023); FoCo Technique - Yin Yue (2020/21) and KOVA Method - La Veronal (2019). As a performer, she was a member of the Quorum Ballet Company (2009/14), the Teatromosca Company (2014/15) and danced with the Vortice Dance Company (2016). Between 2017/19, she was a rehearsal director for pieces by Daniel Cardoso, Rui Lopes Graça, Olga Roriz and Miguel Ramalho. In 2024 she collaborated with choreographer Sylvia Rijmer's research with the BL Method and performed ‘La Passion de Simone’ with the Real Filharmonia de Galicia and conductor Joana Carneiro. Juror of dance competitions: Municipal Competition at Theatro Circo (2024); Dançarte (2022); Arte100Fronteiras (2022); Dance World Cup (2010). She has choreographed for various competitions, winning prizes of distinction and merit, and for the Junior Company of the Aveiro Dance School (2016), the Small Company of the Setúbal Contemporary Dance Academy / Young Choreographers, the show “24”, and “Again(st) Certain. Again(st) Even”, for Companhia Jovem AnimaBallet (2019). In 2021, she choreographed “O fio da Macaquinha” for Companhia de Dança de Almada and in 2022 “A pertinência dos seres” with Margarida Belo Costa for ESD/IDI&CA, and also “ai Kulit” for Projeto Quorum. In 2023 she created “emotmente estranhos” for ESD students and choreographed “ShortCut” for Companhia de Dança de Almada. In 2024 she premiered the piece “Crisálida” for AnimaBallet in Funchal.
Margarida Belo Costa is an independent artist who has simultaneously developed her work as a performer, choreographer and dance teacher. She has a degree and a master's in Dance education from the Escola Superior de Dança-IPL, and is a PhD candidate in Artistic Studies - Art and Mediations - NOVA FCSH. In the 2010/2011 academic year, she was recognised with the IPL Merit Scholarship. In 2024, she was awarded the Medal of Cultural Merit by the Municipality of Caldas da Rainha. As a performer, she has collaborated with various organisations and artists, with national and international tours, including: Quorum Ballet, Teatro Mosca, Teatro Meridional, Teatro Nacional São Carlos, Companhia Paulo Ribeiro, Henrique Rodovalho, António Cabrita, São Castro, Marcos Morau - La Veronal, among others. As a creator, she has been presenting her work since 2012, working independently, with professional dance companies, specialised art schools and multidisciplinary research projects. She has collaborated with Companhia de Dança de Almada, with the work “P.S. Carmen” (2018); with Companhia Portuguesa de Bailado Contemporâneo, with “Promise” (2018), “Apperception Plotline” (2022) and “FRACTAL” (2024) an RTP2 and CPBC production. Independent creations include: “displaced episodes” in CCB (2015); “Who do you want to be today?” (2016) and “Too Loud too Specific” (2018) in collaboration with Elson Ferreira; “Our Last View” Ravenna, Italy (2019) “Faustless” (2020), “Renova” - in collaboration with Nuno da Rocha - Renova Art Commissions (2021), and “Practices of Rebirth”, Cistermúsica (2023). In 2024, She created the DOOR dance project, for contemporary choreographic creation, artistic training and mediation, which aims to provide a meeting place between Specialised Artistic Education, Higher Education and the professional environment, with the support of the Maria Magdalena de Mello Foundation.
