In a telephone interview about the September-December season at CAE in Vale de Cambra, Artistic Director João Aidos highlighted the opening weekend on September 20 with a performance by the Spanish company Ferrer & Weidmann. The show, which combines vertical dance, theater, video, and music, is set outdoors and addresses themes of “exile, war, resistance, and hope.”
“We’re offering something the community hasn’t seen before, a Spanish vertical dance company performing outside, integrating video and dance. It’s a somewhat ‘out of the box’ proposal, drawing the audience to the back façade of the theater. We aim to start with a slightly different performance to present a series of diverse offerings over the next four months,” stated João Aidos.
On the same day, September 20, musician Bruno Pernadas will take the stage for a solo electric guitar concert, and the exhibition “Alentejo. Alentejo” by sculptor Paulo Neves will open, exploring a dialogue between two fundamental elements of the Alentejo landscape: stone and wood.
On October 25, the play “Coro dos Amantes” by Portuguese playwright Tiago Rodrigues will be showcased, featuring actors Claudia Gaiolas and Tónan Quito as a couple, celebrating the “strength of love and life.” João Aidos noted that it’s a highlight that’s “almost impossible for anyone to be indifferent to.”
The performance by singer and songwriter Bárbara Tinoco in October is another significant highlight mentioned by the artistic director.
The OMIRI project, with music composition and improvisation by Vasco Ribeiro Casais, is another November highlight. This international project has reinvented the roots of Portuguese music, bringing its essence to national and international festivals like Womex (Finland), Reeperbahn (Germany), and Eurosonic (Netherlands), utilizing various instruments and electronic music.
Another featured work is the play “Monólogo de uma mulher chamada Maria com a sua patroa” by Sara Barros Leitão.
Conceived by the actress and director, this play focuses on “the role of women and the future of those who clean, care for the world, produce, educate, and prepare the workforce.” According to João Aidos, it’s a work to which it’s “impossible to remain indifferent.”
“Radiohead Recomposed” by the Espinho Jazz Orchestra was also highlighted by João Aidos, as a performance suited for “any audience,” offering “a new perspective, a new arrangement of the British Radiohead with the orchestra.”
The new season will also feature a proposal by playwright Sandra Barata Belo, with actors Ricardo Pereira, Sofia Alves, Diogo Lopes, and Filipe Matos.
The programming concludes in December with a concert by Sofia Escobar and the Banda Musical Flor da Mocidade Junqueirense, which will be an “opportunity to connect with the territory and its structures,” added João Aidos.
“With a cross-sectional and intergenerational approach, the new season reaffirms CAE’s mission as a meeting place between artists and audiences, the past and future, local and global. A space where culture is a driving force for thought, belonging, and transformation,” reads a press dossier presented to the media.
Tickets can be purchased online and at the physical box office starting August 27.
