The shade of the centuries-old cork oaks in Cotifo, Quinta Velha, in the municipality of Lagos, will, from tomorrow until the 12th of May, be artistically inhabited by a spring edition of the Circus & Theater Festival – EmRaizArt.
The Festival, which promises a unique experience for schools and the general public, continues its 3rd edition, the first held in Spring.
«Our festival has always stood out for the strong relationship it has with natural space, for bringing the arts to nature and above all valuing our forests and bringing different audiences to this specific nature that we have in the Algarve», he begins by explaining to South Information Nelda Magalhães, artistic director of InRaizArt.
Furthermore, according to the person responsible, the objective is to invite the public to understand the characteristics of this natural space, its weaknesses and how they can live with it.
«That has always been our focus, bringing the urban to the rural and the urban to understand the rural, in order to be able to help and respect it», he says.
In this festival, the week will be dedicated to schools in the municipality, which will have access to shows, circus, theater, permaculture and creative construction workshops.
On the 11th and 12th, which fall on the weekend, the EmRaizArt opens its doors to the general public, from 2pm to 7pm, with shows, also promoting morning workshops, with limited capacity.
The circus’ aerial apparatus will be a highlight these days, offering participants the opportunity to “fly” and experience the thrill of being “attentive jays” on top of the trapeze.
Reflection will once again have space at this festival, with two thematic conversations around art: bioconstruction and education/creativity, providing a perspective on the natural environment and the human relationship with the act of creating.
«Our festival always takes place in a cork oak forest, where participants are introduced to that reality, to understand what it is like and how it develops and interacts with other species. For us, this is very important, when we are in an Algarve that is experiencing periods of drought or deforestation due to the problems of excessive construction. It is necessary to understand a little how future generations will deal with territorial planning, the preservation of natural environments and understand the importance of resource management», continues Nelda Magalhães
Furthermore, according to the artistic director, another major focus of the EmRaizArt is «get to know the arts from the inside” and “understand the idea that artistic means are for different people or who have specific skills in a certain area”.
Here, «everyone can climb a trapeze and enjoy art in a playful way».
Between May 6th and 12th, the The festival will thus transform the forest into a living stage, where contemporary circus and theater artists from Brazil, Portugal and Chile will show their art.
From Brazil, Jessica Arpin will bring Kalabazi, the story of a young woman who, having an hour to spare before leaving, decides to use that time to get married. It is a circus, clown and poetry show with lots of emotions.
From Chile, arrives Festin de La Rissaand presents Ayayai, which is a typical Chilean and global expression.
From Portugal, there will be Duo Niu – with the show Pandorawhich uses a comic language, fusing techniques of new magic, acrobatics in pairs and physical theater, on the theme of fake news, – It is Other Worlds – a theater show of objects, poetry and music by Nelda Magalhães and Carlos Norton, with poetic texts by Fernando Pessoa, Antero de Quental, Junqueira Freire, among other poets who, in their time, dared to write verses for children.
The Festival also has areas for picnics, traditional games areas and a bar.
As every year, a large participation from Lagos schools and the general public is expected.
«Until now, we have only worked with these schools, due to the support we have for the festival and also because of our response capacity, because only our municipality fills this and is on a waiting list. We have already had many schools from other municipalities asking if they could participate and perhaps in future years we will speak to other municipalities, in this regard», emphasizes Nelda Magalhães.
The event is supported by the Directorate-General for the Arts and the Municipality of Lagos.
Also participating in the festival are Antena 1, the Parish Council of São Gonçalo de Lagos, Circo VagaMundo, the Laboratory of Creative Activities – Associação Cultural, Fungo Azul – Associação Cultural, Mãozorra Associação Cultural, Livraria till a Lua, CAMA, as well as the two School Groups in the municipality of Lagos (Júlio Dantas and Gil Eanes) and the private education establishments Colégio de S. Gonçalo and Colégio Bambino.
Tickets can be purchased at BOL and cost 10 euros for adults and 5 for children.
Programming for the weekend, May 11th and 12th
Saturday, May 11th
10h00- 13h00 / Voice Workshop and Theatrical Games with Cristobal Mc Intosh
2pm / venue opening
2:30 pm / bus departure from Lagos
2:30 pm / World Music by Norton /Tenda Branca
3pm / festival opening
3:05 pm / intervention OTHER WORLDS / MOTHER STAGE
3:15 pm / PANDORA show / PALCO MÃE
4:10 pm / CONVERSATION Art and BioConstruction with Munay and Kike /Tenda CircoVagamundo
4:10 pm /MUSICAS do Mundo by Norton / Tenda Branca
4:30 pm / AYAYAI Show / MÃE STAGE
5:10 pm / intervention OTHER WORLDS / Tent Circo Vagamundo
5:10 pm / MUSICAS do Mundo by Norton DJ Músicas do Mundo Norton / Tenda Branca
5:30 pm / KALABAZI Show / MOTHER STAGE
6:30 pm / FESTIVAL CLOSES
6:45 pm / BUS DEPARTURE
7pm / venue closes
Sunday, May 12th
10h00- 13h00 / Essential Movement Workshop with Benny Bernardo
2pm / venue opening
2:30 pm / bus departure from Lagos
2:30 pm / SONGS of the World by Norton /Tenda Branca
3pm / festival opening
3:05 pm / intervention OTHER WORLDS / MOTHER STAGE
3:15 pm / PANDORA show / PALCO MÃE / 50 minutes
4:10 pm / CONVERSATION Creative Education / CircoVagamundo Tent
4:10 pm /MUSICAS do Mundo by Norton / Tenda Branca
4:30 pm / KALABAZI Show / MOTHER STAGE
5:10 pm / intervention OTHER WORLDS / Tent Circo Vagamundo
5:10 pm / SONGS of the World by Norton / Tenda Branca
5:30 pm / AYAYAI Show / MÃE STAGE
6:30 pm / CLOSING FESTIVAL
6:45 pm / BUS DEPARTURE7pm / venue closes
Tags: artistically inhabited forest meet Cotifo
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