Mal - Embriaguez Divina
“Marlene is unconventional, fierce, disconcerting. MAL – Embriaguez Divina is an experience of embodiment beyond the being. An unforgettable experience.” – Dance art journal
MAL – Embriaguez Divina takes you on an explosive exploration of evil in all its forms.
Festival Brandhaarden
Duration 105 minutes
Genre Dance
Language Language no problem
Dutch opening night Wed, February 5
MAL – Embriaguez Divina
Set in a theatrical (and political) arena, a group of dancers transforms into a chorus that embodies the chaos, frustration, and ambiguity of malice. Their powerful movements and hypnotic rhythms immerse you in a world of tension, where fear and ecstasy alternate in equal measure.
Freitas pushes the boundaries of control and surrender. Paper, an everyday object, becomes a potent symbol of bureaucratic power and the fragility of human structures. The performance teeters between rhythmic disorder and precise choreography, creating a mesmerizing and confronting experience.
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Blending grotesque, poetic, and absurd elements, Freitas paints a portrait of evil that is both unsettling and captivating. MAL – Embriaguez Divina invites you to reflect on our relationship with power, guilt, and the complexities of human nature.
Press
Dance art journal
"It is an unforgettable experience. It is keep looking into the ecstatic eyes of Marlene, even in the final bow and audience ovation.”
Marlene Montero Freitas
Marlene Monteiro Freitas (1979) is the figurehead of the new Portuguese dance scene. She is known for her abundant and expressionistic pieces, inspired by the carnival of her Cape Verdean youth, which combine grotesque figures with a powerful visual language that flirts with the extravagant worlds of fashion and pop culture. Freitas' work, situated at the intersection of dance and theater, is both visually captivating and thematically profound, addressing social issues and offering timely political commentary. Her performances are characterized by a unique blend of slapstick and serious undertones, with music playing a prominent role.
Born in Cape Verde, she was a co-founder of the dance group Compass and studied at P.A.R.T.S. in Brussels, the Escola Superior de Dança, and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon. As a co-founder of P.OR.K., a production organization based in Lisbon, she has revitalized theatricality in dance. In recent years, she has transitioned to larger venues, where she often appears on stage as part of her performances, which always begin with an image that she envisions in her mind.
Freitas collaborates with a diverse group of creators from around the world, giving her work a dynamic and innovative quality that challenges and inspires audiences.
Brandhaarden
Brandhaarden is an international theatre festival that brings performances from notable foreign theatre makers to Amsterdam. The festival provides a unique overview of a single creator, house, writer, region, or theme. In previous editions, we highlighted directors such as Katie Mitchell, Milo Rau, and the collective Rimini Protokoll, writer Édouard Louis, the Southern European region (Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Greece), and city theatres such as Münchner Kammerspiele, Volksbühne Berlin, and Peter Brooks Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord.
Credits
by Martin Valdés-Stauber
choreography Marlene Monteiro Freitas
assistance Lander Patrick de Andrade
with Andreas Merk, Francisco Rolo, Henri “Cookie” Lesguillier, Hsin-Yi Hsiang, Joãozinho da Costa, Mariana Tembe, Marlene Monteiro Freitas, Miguel Filipe, Tonan Quito
light Yannick Fouassier
space Yannick Fouassier, Marlene Monteiro Freitas, Miguel Figueira
dramaturgy Marlene Monteiro Freitas, Martin Valdés-Stauber
sound Rui Dâmaso, Rui Antunes
stage manager and light operation João Chicó
props Marlene Monteiro Freitas, Flávio Martins
costumes Marlene Monteiro Freitas, Marisa Escaleira
research Marlene Monteiro Freitas, Martin Valdés-Stauber João Francisco Figueira
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production P.OR.K -Soraia Gonçalves, Joana Costa Santos (Lisbon, PT), Münchner Kammerspiele (Munich, DE)
distribution Key Performance (Stockholm, SE)Coproduction | Biennale de la danse de Lyon 2020 and Pôle européen de création – Ministère de la Culture/Maison de la Danse en soutien à la Biennale de la danse de Lyon 2020 (Lyon, FR); Culturgest (Lisbon, PT); HAU Hebbel am Ufer (Berlin, DE); Kunstenfestivaldesarts (Brussels, BE); International Summer Festival Kampnägel (Hamburg, DE); Künstlerhaus Mousonturm (Frankfurt, DE); Festival d’Automne -Les Spectacles Vivants/ Centre Pompidou (Paris, FR) ; NEXT festival (Eurometropolis Lille, Kortrijk, Tournai & Valenciennes (BE,FR); Ruhrtriennale (Bochum, DE); TANDEM Scène nationale (Douai – Arras, FR); Teatro Municipal do Porto (Porto, PT); Theater Freiburg (Freiburg, DE); Wiener Festwochen (Vienna, AT).
acknowledgements CML – Câmara Municipal de Lisboa (Lisbon, PT); Dançando com a Diferença (Funchal, PT); Fabrica Europa|PARC- Performing Arts Research Center (Florence, IT); La Gare – Fabrique des arts en mouvement (Le Relecq-Kerhuon, FR); Pólo Cultural das Gaivotas | Boavista (Lisboa, PT); Reykjavík Dance Festival (Reykjavík, IC)
Brandhaarden is is financially supported by
