Cine-Teatro São Pedro de Alcanena
“What can man’s wisdom, in restoring his bereaved sense?” Cordelia, in King Lear, by William Shakespeare.
As soon as we go in, it begins. As soon as we leave, it’s not over yet. To go through one of Vânia Rovisco’s shows is like running in every direction only to find the entire universe in one skin pore. It is to recognise by repetition, to continue by cohabitating, to unfold while existing in four dignities: standing, lying down, sitting up, walking. Four ways of being fully ourselves: Rovisco seeks what makes us feel at home in our bodies and what makes us roam the world. Asking about what afflicts, moves, stirs, consoles us. Questioning the everyday action of stepping on the ground. How do we move between chores, and between meanings when we are 23, 5, 47, 64 years old? What is it like to love, to create, to fail, to disagree, to listen or to stop, as actions and as words? Where do they diverge? Where and how do they fit together? Vânia Rovisco invites us into an immersive experience where each person is the essential cog in the wheel of their choosing.
Visual performance artist, she completed the Contemporary Dance Performers Course at Forum Dança (1998–2000). She worked as a performer with Meg Stuart/Damaged Goods (2001–07). Since then, she has worked as a freelancer on projects by various artists, including Pierre Coulibeuf, Helena Waldman, Gordon Monahan, Vera Mantero, among others. She has been providing training and directing movement for theatre for over two decades. She curated the 3rd Advanced Programme in Performing Arts Creation at Forum Dança (2019). Since 2006, she has chosen to place the body within the context of the art gallery, designing installations and performances — a practice that has become the foundation of her artistic work. She is co-founder of the artistic platform AADK (2007), which exists in Portugal and Spain, and in 2021, she began laying the foundations for a space located 40 km south of Lisbon – The Plot – dedicated to artistic, community, and agricultural practices across multiple disciplines.