Porträtperformance Natasha Vergilio

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


Every day, we practise not standing out, not displeasing, not arousing fear. Patriarchy takes time and energy. She dances because she has inherited not only the techniques of the lowered gaze, but also the strength and courage to stand out, to make the other person vibrate and bring life to life.


She dances because some before her have consolidated the ground, invented terms, “queer” and “non-binary”, et cetera, because they developed relationships. They dance because the ego are so many: Ancestors, spirits and messengers, pomba giras, because they may have already lived and therefore know life, because they are not alone. They dance to create the vibration in resistance that makes life come alive, to create sparks.


On this evening, Natasha Vergilio bows to the feminine side of her family; by dancing upright, in circles ahead, exploring new spaces.


Portrait performances are risky: here, it’s not about the role profile, about what one has always done, because directors and producers see it “in” you, but rather it’s about what one wants to tell.


PORTRAIT is an invitation to artists to showcase themselves and what matters to them. It’s an invitation to the audience to encounter artists in a complexity not seen before.