Inspired on Clarice Lispector’s world, Sem Chão Sem Fim travels through the purest, the most organic and intense of emotions in human relationships. The performance is a poetic and existential exhibition in direct dialogue with dance and human essence.
It premiered in 2015 in Castelo de São Jorge and has been performed in a variety of venues, such as Teatro Gil Vicente and in Vila Real and Bragança. Ten years on in 2025, Amélia Bentes recreates and revives this work for the Pedra Dura Festival in Lagos. She returns with a work that left a profound mark on her artistic career and the cultural programming of the time.
“The body is what moves my whole being. It sets off a dance without a ground or end, a dance under an open sky. This way I try to understand those who seek a path as I seek mine, my best way of being, my shortcut; and my path is not me but the others. What do I really know about myself? I senseI’m me and, at the same time, I don’t know myself. Could there be some inner mirror? If I’m hugged very tightly, will I fall apart? And what if I hug you? Can I hug you? The purpose of air begins to give way. Affection secures me in you. Can I hug you?" - Amélia Bentes
Duration: 55min.
Age rating: M/6
Direction and choreography
Amélia Bentes
Performers
Daniel Matos, Nuno Velosa, Rita Sotto, Rita Carpinteiro, Lia Vohlgemuth, Miguel Santos, Amélia Bentes
Original music
Rafael Araújo (live piano)
Technical direction and lighting
Raúl Seguro
Photos
Joaquim Leal
THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED BY – EGEAC (CULTURAL EQUIPMENT AND ENTERTAINMENT MANAGEMENT COMPANY – CMLISBOA) 2015
Choreographer, dancer, teacher, researcher. She began her career as a professional dancer at Dance Alliance (England) under choreographer Mary Fulkerson, and was a guest dancer in several independent projects by the Hard Knocks group, directed by Yoshico Shuma, in New York. As a performer, she also stood out with the Amsterdam Dance Theatre Company in 1991 (Netherlands). Her work with choreographers Paulo Ribeiro and Vera Mantero in numerous creations is also noteworthy. She also participated in a play by Alan Platel at the Skite 94 Festival. Since 1992, she has been part of the Clara Andermatt Company, starting as a dancer and then as her assistant in several productions, including, among many others, O canto do cisne, Pantera, and Sensorianas. She performed as Tânia Carvalho in the choreography MUIÇAS in 2019 at the DDD Festival in Porto. She co-founded the AZA company with Paula Moreno in 2019.
Amélia Bentes has been developing her choreographic work since 1997. It has been presented in the Netherlands, Germany, France, England, Italy, Spain, and Brazil. However, it was with her first choreography under her own name, Mar és, that she won the 3rd national prize of the Novos Valores da Cultura programme in 1988. This is in addition to two others achieved in 2007, awarded by the organisation ‘Guia dos Teatros’ to the works ‘Ego Skin’ and ‘Cabeças no Ar’. She has participated in several workshops that have marked her career, notably with Steve Paxton, Wim Wandekeybus, Alan Platel and David Zambrano.
He has created more than 60 choreographic works, including Fun da Mental, Declassé, Noite (Ministry of Culture), Ego Skin and Eternuridade (Dgartes).
Several of his choreographies are currently being performed: (in)Visibility, a performance accompanied by a photographic exhibition with augmented reality, and CRySTAL, which premiered on 24 November 2024 at Musibéria with the support of the GDA Foundation. He regularly teaches workshops on dance techniques, improvisation, choreographic composition and repertoire throughout the country. She has also taught in Canada, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, and Cape Verde. She has been teaching at the Escola Superior de Dança as an adjunct professor since 2005. She holds a degree from the Escola Superior de Dança, a BA from the European Dance Development Centre in the Netherlands, a Master's degree in Communication Sciences from UNL, and a Specialist in Dance title from the Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa.