The project “Lines of Tension. Art, Dance and Ecology”, by Daniel Tércio, proposes a vision of ecology that is not limited to studying a strict domain of environmental phenomena, but which, by associating them with art, and in particular dance, extends its scope to the relationship between the human world and the whole of nature. Each meeting is accompanied by a workshop on the imaginative production of possible actions and things, with an inclusive character, led by the author and guest artists, and a conversation around the book “Lines of Tension. Art, Dance and Ecology”.
The session will feature Daniel Tércio (author/researcher), Rita Vilhena (performer) and Alix Sarrouy (musician/performer).
Part 1 – Workshop with Rita Vilhena, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Body-Plant: Transmission, Coexistence and Poetic-Sensitive Listening
This workshop proposes a sensitive dive into the relationship between body, nature and artistic gesture, through practices that activate listening, coexistence and automatic writing. Based on the idea of transmission between bodies, we will explore the embodiment of the body-plant concept, opening up space for the creation of a collective physical score rooted in affection, attention and co-presence.
The proposal stems from the urgent need to rethink our relationship with the planet. At a time marked by the ecological crisis and the separation between nature and culture, this meeting invites us to create a space for reconnection - with the ground we walk on, with the bodies that surround us, with the rhythms of the earth and with gestures of care. Through body exercises, sharing practices and moments of automatic writing, we will address issues related to the Anthropocene, ecofeminism and listening as a poetic and political tool.
What to bring
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One or two medium-sized plants that are easy to transport
(they will be living tools for exploration during the workshop) -
Comfortable clothing suitable for movement, preferably clothes that can get dirty.
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Willingness to work barefoot.
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Water and a small snack.
Part 2 – Launch of the book “Lines of Tension. Art, Dance and Ecology” from 12.30 to 13.30
Conversation with Daniel Tércio and Alix Didier Sarrouy
The book, written by Daniel Tércio, is organised into nine essays: forest; plankton and whales; aggression and violence; transforming; transporting; sleeping and dreaming; wisdom-of-original-peoples; being-wild; and enchanting-resonating. The book also includes an afterword that invites us to take a look ahead: what will our worlds be like, what will Earth be like, in 2028? This question is the challenge for the second half of the project: what can we do now?
Copies of the book will be distributed free of charge to those attending the launch and those registered for the workshop.
Daniel Tércio
Daniel Tércio holds a PhD in Human Motricity - Dance (FMH, 1997), and has studied Philosophy (UL), Fine Arts (FBAL), and the History of Art (UNL). He was an Associate Professor at the University of Lisbon, where he taught Dance History, Aesthetics, Movement and Visual Arts, and until 2021 he was coordinating the PhD programme in Dance. A member of the board of the Institute of Ethnomusicology, he was also a co-operator in Timor (2005) and a visiting professor in Nice (2012) and Bahia (2023). He has published, among other works, ‘Dança e Azulejaria no Teatro do Mundo’ (Lisbon: Inapa 1999) and ‘Dançar para a República’ (Lisbon: ed. Caminho 2010). Internationally, he is the author of articles such as ‘Martyrium as Performance’ (Performance Research, 15 (1) 2010) and (co-authored) “Terpsicore. Dance and performing arts archive” (In Dance Data, Cognition, and Multimodal Communication. Routledge). In addition to his academic work, he is a literary author in the science fiction genre, with work published in Portugal and Brazil. He coordinates TEPe and the BDD Terpsicore digital archive. He also develops curatorial activities, most recently as part of Sivestre - Dance and Performing Arts Festival.
Rita Vilhena
Rita Vilhena is a choreographer, performer and researcher in contemporary dance, with a focus on transformation, participation, intuition and pleasure. She explores themes such as ritual, ecofeminism, autobiography and performance, in pieces such as #VIBRA#DOR, CORPO SANTO, MA-MA and Pela Nossa Pele. She presents her work in national and international contexts, in countries such as Holland, Austria, Brazil, Egypt and Thailand. In 2005 she founded the improvisation platform Baila Louca (Rotterdam) and won the Solo Dance Contest (2012) in Poland. In Portugal, she is the co-founder and artistic director of Partícula Extravagante and programmer of the experimental stage Partícula no Açúcar. Since 2005, she has been practising and facilitating Contact Improvisation, organising festivals and meetings related to the practice. She teaches occasionally at dance schools in Europe. She has a Master’s degree in Performing Arts and is a PhD candidate in Artistic Studies at FCSH-UNL, where she is a member of the ICNOVA - Performance and Cognition research group.
Alix Didier Sarrouy
Musician, performer and sociologist of the arts. Researcher at the Institute of Ethnomusicology - Centre for Studies in Music & Dance, NOVA.FCSH, where he coordinates the thematic line Power, Politics and Activism.
