Portugal que Dançais a pioneer project: it is the first documentary series produced about Portuguese contemporary dance, giving visibility to the most recent generation of dance creators in Portugal.

Directed by Cristina Ferreira Gomes, written by Luiz Antunes and produced by Mares do Sul, Portugal que Dança follows the daily life of young creators, follows their creative construction routine, showing their works, their aspirations and the intersection with different artistic subjects.

Produced for RTP2, the series was supported by Teatro Municipal do Porto, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and GDA Foundation.

In 2021, within the partnership that unites DDD - Festival Dias da Dança and RTP2, we present seven episodes of this series. Seven episodes that focus on creators programmed, this year, by DDD. Keeping the international audience in mind, namely the foreign programmers, the episodes were subtitled in English and are available from 20th to 30th April on DDD's YouTube channel and on the artists' pages on the festival's website.

At the same time that, on stage or at home, we discover the most recent works by Jonas&Lander, Marco da Silva Ferreira, Catarina Miranda, Teresa Silva, São Castro and António M Cabrita, Cláudia Dias and Victor Hugo Pontes, watching Portugal que Dança allows us to dive into the recent past and to get to know the creative path of these creators.

EPISODE #1 - LANDER PATRICK AND JONAS LOPES

Lander Patrick and Jonas Lopes are preparing their new creation, Adorabilis. They are leaving for an artistic residency at Espaço do Tempo, in Montemor-o-Novo. The documentary follows the daily intense work routine of the duo of creators between rehearsals, costume fitting and preparation of the first public presentation. From the residency in Alentejo, we continue our journey until the eve of the piece's premiere in Lisbon. Throughout the documentary, we can verify the choreographic evolution, the transformation that the show goes through and also get to know the creative world of this duo of choreographers.

(Flashforward to 2021: Jonas&Lander premiere Bate Fado at the Grand Auditorium of Teatro Rivoli and on the Virtual Stage of BOL)

EPISODE #2 - MARCO DA SILVA FERREIRA

Filmed between Lisbon and Paris, the documentary follows the rehearsals of Brother: we see the intense coordination work of the group of dancers, the creative isolation, the transition from the rehearsal room to the stage and the premiere at the Teatro São Luiz, in Lisbon. We travel with the group to Paris where the choreographer will present the piece to the French audience in the cycle Chantiers d'Europe, organised by Thêatre de La Ville.

(Flashforward to 2021: Marco da Silva Ferreira joins director Jorge Jácome and premieres SIRI at Teatro Campo Alegre and on the Virtual Stage of BOL)

EPISODE #3 - CATARINA MIRANDA

In artistic residency, Catarina Miranda prepares Boca Muralha, the last part of a trilogy that we will get to know throughout the documentary. We see the evolution of the technical work, the importance of the costumes and set and we witness the creative persistence and rigour in the construction of the choreography. Besides following the rehearsals, we visit previous works and experts who talk about the creative world of the choreographer.

(Flashforward to 2021: Catarina Miranda premieres CABREQIMERA at Teatro Rivoli and on the Virtual Stage of BOL)

EPISODE #4 – TERESA SILVA

Rehearsal room, at O Espaço do Tempo, in Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal. Teresa Silva works on Nova Criação with Filipe Pereira. In the ambience of the old convent of Nossa Senhora da Saudação, we follow the choreographer's daily artistic residency. The creation dialogues, the construction of the concept, the attempts to define the first movements. We watch the work evolve until the day of the public presentation.

(Flashforward to 2021: Teresa Silva, with Sara Anjo, presents Oráculo in Serralves and an audiovisual object from that same piece on the Virtual Stage of BOL)

EPISODE #5 - SÃO CASTRO AND ANTÓNIO M CABRITA

This is a look at the elaboration process of the performance Rule of Thirds, by this duo of choreographers, artistic directors of Companhia Paulo Ribeiro, at Teatro Viriato, in Viseu. We witness the concerns, the daily effort and dedication put into the development of the creation. In a context of great proximity with the creators and the two dancers that accompany them, this episode goes through the questions in the search for a perfect work having as a starting point the work of Henri Cartier Bresson.

(Flashforward to 2021: São Castro and António M Cabrita present Last at Teatro Municipal de Matosinhos Constantino Nery and on the Virtual Stage of BOL)

EPISODE #6 – CLÁUDIA DIAS

In this film we experience the daily creation of Cláudia Dias and we follow her political engagement, from the International Workers' Day March to the International Women's Day, in a contextualization of her work with a strong activist and political slant. And, at the same time that the creation is consolidated, with the transition to the stage of the Teatro Maria Matos, in Lisbon, with the premiere and subsequent presentations, we revisit previous works, we film her social project with children from public schools and we listen to the reflections of experts on her work.

(Flashforward to 2021: Cláudia Dias presents Quinta-Feira: Abracadabra on the Virtual Stage of BOL)

EPISODE #7 – VICTOR HUGO PONTES

Rehearsal room at Teatro do Campo Alegre, in Porto, Victor Hugo Pontes tries to solve the evolution of the choreography of the next show. The dancers raise questions, the rehearsals take a long time, doubts arise. There is the incessant repetition of movements until exhaustion, the refinement of perfection. We watch the tremendous effort of creation, in a total artistic immersion. The team travels to Lisbon. The premiere is approaching, as is the tension and the need to adapt the choreography to the space of the stage. We witness the daily work: the movements, the light, the music, the set. And, in between, we visit previous works.

(Flashforward to 2021: the last creation by Victor Hugo Pontes, Os Três Irmãos, is presented at Teatro Rivoli and on the Virtual Stage of BOL)