18th Anniversary of the Vila Flor Cultural Center

The Vila Flor Cultural Center (CCVF), in Guimarães, celebrates its 18th anniversary with a week of shows in a demonstration of diversity and dedication to the (multiple) arts that have always been associated with its existence.
The official date is September 17th, but the program to celebrate the 18th anniversary of the Vila Flor Cultural Center begins on September 15th and continues until the 23rd, covering various spaces and stages of this cultural facility with the dance of Jonas&Lander (“Cascas d'OvO”), a duo that marks 10 years of joint artistic journey; the music of Gabriel Prokofiev and Mr Switch with the Guimarães Orchestra, which here sets out to explore new sound paths created by the renowned English composer; and that of Pedro Mafama with his refreshed vision and interpretation of Portuguese popular music; and the SillySeason theater with the new creation of this collective, co-produced by the CCVF, taking over the “Main Stage” of the final night of this prolonged celebration. A party in which we are all invited to participate for the symbolic value of 18 euros.

Program

Starting this celebration on September 15th (9:30 pm) in the Small Auditorium, together with the CCVF audience, Jonas&Lander presents us with their first co-creation, “Cascas d'OvO”, a work that took them to several national and international stages. It is an iconic piece that was born from the need to explore superhuman, telepathic communication, as the maximum exponent of a couple's relational connection, offering us the experience of a new dimension of dialogue, where social and social relations are rethought. its forms of expression: theater as microcosms of society that immerse the public in the silence and music of bodies that communicate.

Jonas&Lander (Jonas Lopes and Lander Patrick) is a duo of Portuguese choreographers with a strong signature, who invariably show their creations across borders, also collaborating around the world with people they admire in the artistic world. After having already treated the Guimarães public with the presentation of several of their works, Jonas&Lander join the celebration of CCVF's 18th anniversary with “Cascas d'OvO” (2013), a piece distinguished as Priority Company 2014 by the European network Aerowaves (recognition they also achieved in 2017 with another of their creations), having been presented in several European countries and in Brazil. In the days before the presentation of the show to the public, the duo shares this space and time alongside local volunteers that they have invited to participate in the show, a moment in which they experiment with techniques, tools and processes used by the performers throughout the process. from creation.

The multifaceted celebration of the arts at the CCVF continues with music at the forefront, dominating on Saturday and Sunday, in the Grand Auditorium and in the Garden, respectively. The 16th (9:30 pm) is the premiere in Guimarães, with the composer, producer and DJ Gabriel Prokofiev, grandson of Sergei Prokofiev and one of the important contemporary composers, being invited to a concert in collaboration with the Guimarães Orchestra, directed by the maestro Vítor Matos. From his repertoire, which uniquely positions itself at the intersection between the past and the future of contemporary musical creation, Gabriel combines extensive experience in classical and symphonic compositions (in addition to scores for films, dance and opera; and electronic music to create evocative musical journeys that cross genres and enhance emotions). Having already been nominated for distinctions for works that have been performed internationally by orchestras such as the BBC Philharmonic, St Petersburg Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, Detroit Symphony, MDR Leipzig, Buenos Aires Philharmonic and Royal Seville Symphony Orchestra, Gabriel Prokofiev now comes to Guimarães to challenge conventions and demonstrate, together with the Guimarães Orchestra, and Mr Switch's intervention in some themes throughout the concert, how his works are a hybrid and fascinating territory, in exploring the various possibilities that art allows.

The following day, Sunday, September 17th (6pm), the Vila Flor Cultural Center welcomes us all with open arms in its gardens to offer us a concert by Pedro Mafama, a fearless artist who is marking a unique narrative in Portuguese music and comes to share with us his most recent album (“I was in the abyss but I took a step forward”) – which earned him a nomination for the Play Awards in the New Artist category –, to celebrate the official anniversary of Centro Cultural Vila Flor . At the end of the afternoon, the admired and vivid gardens of the CCVF promise to transform into a great stage, where there will be no shortage of “Preço Certo”, but also “Estrada” and “Marcha Bonita”, among other songs written by Pedro Mafama, who they result from years of studying Portuguese popular music, during which the musician focused on Portuguese dances, marches and rumbas. The party is guaranteed: we will dance until sunset and celebrate with great joy the Vila Flor Cultural Center's 18 years of activity.

The celebration is completed with the theater taking center stage at this great party, which appears to premiere “Palco Principal”, the new creation of the SillySeason collective, featuring performers such as Dalila Carmo, Ivo Saraiva e Silva, Aura da Fonseca, Cátia Tomé, João Cachola, Ricardo Teixeira, Rodrigo Teixeira.

A co-production by Centro Cultural Vila Flor with Teatro das Figuras, Teatro Municipal de Bragança and FESTLIP - Festival Internacional das Artes da Língua Portuguesa, to be presented in the largest room of the CCVF on the 23rd, Saturday, at 9:30 pm. In this show in which the gaze falls on the universe of Chekhov and “The Seagull”, the aim is to rescue and inscribe lost narratives in the greatest fiction of all time: History. And living (life and art) is a luxury that only exists for some of us. And be aware that this universe – in which the tragedy and responsibility of living and the urgency of being more representative and egalitarian are nourished by tiredness and self-delusion – invites us all to move dozens of muscles, as if to say laugh.

This show by SillySeason – a collective of artists who allow themselves to think about theater and the performing arts, in a constant search for new models of creation and in a constant reflection on what theater is, or what it could be – includes interpretation in Portuguese Sign Language .

Offered to the city and to all people who want to gather in the CCVF gardens, Pedro Mafama's concert is free to attend. The general ticket (which gives access to the remaining shows) available for the symbolic value of 18 euros, as well as individual tickets, can be purchased at A Oficina's physical ticket offices and online at Oficina.bol.pt.

About the Vila Flor Cultural Center

Opened in 2005, the CCVF is managed and programmed by the Guimarães cultural cooperative A Oficina and since then a regular program in the field of performing arts – contemporary, international and with a focus on new creation – has been presented here, and is also a space (composed of two auditoriums, a concert café and praised gardens that give life to Palácio Vila Flor, an 18th century building that offers an exhibition space) for festivals such as GUIdance, Westway LAB, Festivals Gil Vicente, Manta and Guimarães Jazz. Organized by the aforementioned cooperative, which assumes the responsibility of carrying them out in an action called public service, successive artistic co-productions also multiply here each year, reflecting a dedication to arts and culture, with increasing breadth and diversity.

SOURCE: The Workshop