ATSUMORI

Portuguese choreographer and visual artist Catarina Miranda is known for her multidisciplinary approach, in which visual imagery, movement, voice, scenography and light merge into one. Her dance style is both ritualistic and futuristic, as well as focused and hypnotic. She interweaves geometric with organic movement, drawing on folk dance, vogueing, performance art and Asian influences. All this is captured in an indefinable but intriguing sci-fi-like physicality.

In 2018, Miranda trained at the Kyoto Art Centre in Japan, where she immersed herself in the movement language and musical traditions of Noh theatre. In this ancient theatre genre, with its minimalist and symbolic style, everything - from the movements to the music and costumes - is carefully orchestrated.

ΛƬSUMOЯI is the fruit of this study, which incorporates the codes of Noh theatre to create a contemporary, hypnotic dance language. Past and future touch each other. The title refers to a 15th-century Noh theatre script, in which the ghost of a young samurai roams over the battlefield after his violent death, seeking revenge. Only when a monk helps him accept his fate does he find peace.

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The themes of loss and rebirth inspire ΛƬSUMOЯI, a mysterious in-between world full of shadows, disappearing bodies and unexpected transformations. Five dancers perform a ritual reminiscent of a tribal folk dance - like an incantation. Carried by clapping, whispers and low, droning sounds, the dance gradually gains intensity, like a dream that slowly swallows you up.

The lighting design by Letícia Skrycky and Joana Mário plays an essential role. Sharp contrasts between light and darkness weave a magical landscape, where the dancers disappear into the shadows or seemingly appear out of nowhere.