Gira – Porträtperformance Natasha Vergilio

When she looks back, she sees the footprints of many feet in the sandy ground. Is the ‘I’ alone? In European, market-oriented thinking, the ‘I’ is an autonomous point, less than a star. But it is more likely that the ‘I’ is ‘uma banda’. We exist because others came before us. And others are with us.

Day in, day out, we practise not standing out, not causing offence, not arousing fear. Patriarchy takes up time and energy. She dances, for we have inherited not only the techniques of the downcast gaze, but also the strength and courage to stand out, to set our counterparts in motion and to bring life into being.

She dances because some before her have laid the groundwork, coined terms such as ‘queer’ and ‘non-binary’, and because they forged relationships. They dance because the ‘I’ is so many: female ancestors, spirits and messengers, pomba giras; because they may have already lived and thus know life; because they are not alone. They dance to generate, through resistance, the vibration that keeps life alive, to strike sparks.

On this evening, Natasha Vergilio pays homage to the feminine side of her family; by standing tall, moving forward in circles, and dancing her way into new spaces.

Portrait performances are a risk: what counts here is not the role profile – what one has always done because others, directors and producers, see that ‘in’ one – but rather what one wants to tell oneself.

PORTRÄT is an invitation to artists to reveal themselves and what matters to them. It is an invitation to the audience to encounter artists in a complexity never seen before.