Alba
Scenography, as Colectivo Suspeito
Alba crosses contemporary dance, classical music and literature, departing from Novas Cartas Portuguesas to question the political, historical, social and poetic meanings of freedom. Understood as a work-in-progress, freedom appears tied to ideas of resistance, revolution, participation and transformation.
For the performance, Colectivo Suspeito created a long gutter structure from which dozens of white fabric threads hung over the orchestra. The composition evoked at once a sky and the domestic universe of Novas Cartas Portuguesas — the bed, the sheets, the body and intimacy — but also a web, a structure that envelops and imprisons. Manipulated directly by the dancers, the set transformed throughout the performance. The threads were pulled, wound and tensioned, progressively undoing the initial order and converting the sky into a weave, a kind of grate that unravels through the action of the bodies.
The scenography thus became part of Alba’s own narrative: a structure that holds and that can be transformed, a metaphor for freedom as a process of resistance and liberation. Materials: gutters, fabric, hardware Dimensions: 15m in length Direction: Susana Otero Choreography and performance: Carminda Soares, Filipa Duarte, Maria R. Soares, Margarida Monteny and Susana Otero Costumes: Jordann Santos Scenography: Colectivo Suspeito Lighting design: Pedro Abreu Make-up and hair: Maria Fontes and Patrícia Lima Supporting texts: Rogério Nuno Costa Musical composition: Nuno Guedes de Campos Musical direction: Osvaldo Ferreira / André Lousada Supported by: Orquestra Filarmónica Portuguesa, CIRAC, Teatro Municipal da Guarda, Europarque Presentations:
EuroParque, Santa Maria da Feira, 2023
Teatro Municipal da Guarda, Guarda, 2023
For the performance, Colectivo Suspeito created a long gutter structure from which dozens of white fabric threads hung over the orchestra. The composition evoked at once a sky and the domestic universe of Novas Cartas Portuguesas — the bed, the sheets, the body and intimacy — but also a web, a structure that envelops and imprisons. Manipulated directly by the dancers, the set transformed throughout the performance. The threads were pulled, wound and tensioned, progressively undoing the initial order and converting the sky into a weave, a kind of grate that unravels through the action of the bodies.
The scenography thus became part of Alba’s own narrative: a structure that holds and that can be transformed, a metaphor for freedom as a process of resistance and liberation. Materials: gutters, fabric, hardware Dimensions: 15m in length Direction: Susana Otero Choreography and performance: Carminda Soares, Filipa Duarte, Maria R. Soares, Margarida Monteny and Susana Otero Costumes: Jordann Santos Scenography: Colectivo Suspeito Lighting design: Pedro Abreu Make-up and hair: Maria Fontes and Patrícia Lima Supporting texts: Rogério Nuno Costa Musical composition: Nuno Guedes de Campos Musical direction: Osvaldo Ferreira / André Lousada Supported by: Orquestra Filarmónica Portuguesa, CIRAC, Teatro Municipal da Guarda, Europarque Presentations:
EuroParque, Santa Maria da Feira, 2023
Teatro Municipal da Guarda, Guarda, 2023
