'Happy Island' arrives at the national stages

Tonight the stages of Continental Portugal receive, for the first time, the performance 'Happy Island', a creation of spanish choreographer La Ribot, for the group Dançando com a Diferença.

The preview of this creation took place last May in Madeira, in the auditorium of MUDAS, Museum of Contemporary Art of Madeira.

This was followed by an absolute premiere at the La Batiê - Geneva Film Festival (Switzerland), five sold-out sessions at Le Grütli - Centre de Production et des Artes Vivants (Center for Production and the Arts Vivants) and three more sold-out sessions at the Festival Internacional de Artes Escénicas - ÌDEM 2018 (International Festival of Performing Arts) of La Casa Encendida (Madrid) last September.

'Happy Island' by La Ribot for Dançando com a Diferença, with a film by Raquel Freire, has been a success amongst the public and critics wherever it was performed. Today, comes the moment of its debut in Portugal at the opening of New Age New Time - NANT 2018 at Teatro Viriato (theater in Viseu). Tomorrow, they are heading for the capital of the country for another performance in the emblematic CULTURGEST (Lisbon), on the 23rd of November.

In the presentation text of La Ribot's creation Claudia Galhós says: "In 'Happy Island' there are people who are places and places that are people and in this encounter, or tension, between the two they generate fiction, myth, legend. And we never left reality. We never abandoned the people, in laughter and in tears. We never left the Fanal, the vertiginous highest point of the forest of Funchal, where the sky seems to touch the bowels of the earth - this is also what we see in the film of Raquel Freire, as well as the extended community of the whole dance company in a celebration of the expression on sensual feeling ".

Maria João Pereira, an interpreter on 'Happy Island' of Dançando com a Diferença, when asked about the sensation of dancing this creation of La Ribot says that, "every show is a new moment, every show there is something new, we grow as artists and people."

Telmo Ferreira, who plays the role of Choreography Assistant on 'Happy Island', said: "Working with La Ribot allowed me to get to know the group and the creation in a way that I had never experienced before, the love of the work and the detail of this choreography has enriched me as a professional and as a person."

It’s recalled that 'Happy Island' is a production of Dançando com a Diferença - Madera and La Ribot - Geneva, in a co-production with Le Grütli - Center for Production & Diffusion des Arts Vivants - Festival La Batiê - Genève and CN D, Center National de la Danse - Paris and the ‘Comemorações dos 600 anos do descobrimento da Madeira e do Porto Santo’ ('Commemorations of the 600th anniversary of the discovery of Madeira and Porto Santo') - Portugal.

With the support of the Ernst Göhner Foundation, AC/E (Acción Cultural Española - Spanish Cultural Action), NAVE (Chile). Dançando com a Diferença is also thankful to Mateo Jobin for the title of 'Happy Island', to Lédia Rodrigues for the feather hat, to Eric Weiss for the black t-shirt and to Marco de Barros and Nuno Borba for their constant support.

Five dancers on stage

Five dancers will reveal their dreams and wishes at the 'Happy Island' show, tonight in Viseu.

The stage of the Teatro Viriato will be occupied by Joana Caetano, Sofia Marote, Maria João Pereira, Bárbara Matos and Pedro Alexandre Silva. The rest of the group of Inclusive Dance, from Madeira, will also be present in a film directed by Raquel Freire, who will serve as scenery for the dance performance.

Henrique Amoedo, artistic director of Dançando com a Diferença, told reporters that his initial idea was for La Ribot to create three solos, which would be performed by Joana, Sofia and Bárbara.

However, after getting to know Madeira and the cast of the group the choreographer thought that the richness of its characteristics justified that all the dancers participated in the performance.

"I said that this was impossible for the production, because it would be a performance that we would hardly be able to move, and the proposal came about that the people were all integrated into Raquel Freire's film", said Henrique Amoedo.

La Ribot explored the particularities of each dancer because, as Maria João Pereira told the journalists, "we do not have disabilities, we are here to praise our advantages".

For example, this dancer emerges on stage without her wheelchair, dressed as a snake and stretched out on the floor, trembling, her body movements "enlarged" by the feather hat she has on her head.

"Maria is able to move in a way that nobody can. There is a specific movement that, no matter how much it is trained by any dancer, it is very difficult to imitate", said Henrique Amoedo, adding that what La Ribot did was to "take advantage of each one's abilities and take this to the scene".

The artistic director of the group Dançando com a Diferença explained that the performance "has much of the will and desire of each one of them", which is reflected in the more logistical part. "They are co-creators. The clothes, the way they present themselves, [everything] has to do with the joining of each one's dream with what La Ribot saw for each one", he stressed.

author: Ana Luísa Correia

source:  Diário de Notícias  (page 40)