Twelve years since “The Rite of Spring,” Olga Roriz returns to solo performance, a field she deems the most demanding and personal of her career, with a “complete self-portrait,” as she noted in an interview before the premiere in July in Porto.
Following its debut, “O Salvado” went on tour through Lisbon, Setúbal, Faro, Aveiro, Ponte de Lima, Famalicão, Lagos, ending the year in Sintra and resuming in 2026 with shows in Loulé, Almada, Guimarães, Figueira da Foz, Leiria, Tavira, Caldas da Rainha, and Santa Maria da Feira.
According to Olga Roriz, the piece brings to the stage the power of words and the body, alongside everything the choreographer “saved,” after “clearing” part of what was left behind in her seven decades of life, three dedicated to her own company.
“Solos have happened this way, almost every ten years. It’s as if that possibility is always latent within me, and I know when the time is right,” described the choreographer about her latest creation.
In the piece, which the artist describes as her most intimate to date, Olga Roriz opened herself to new challenges, including bringing communication closer to the audience, memorizing texts, showing her body, and learning to play electric guitar.
“It’s something I built that people have never seen,” summarized the artist, noting that “the audience won’t expect such closeness in a solo,” due to the significant presence of her own texts, and she believes it will be “very interesting” to experience that surprise.
Twelve years after the solo she created for “The Rite of Spring,” Olga Roriz continues to feel the need to renew herself, ignore taboos, recreate something new, experiment with how the body is presented on stage, and explore various artistic languages.
In music, this time entirely of her choice, she fulfills the dream of playing electric guitar: “In the 20 minutes of audience entry [into the room] I am playing a composition by Vitor Rua called ‘Salvado Suite’. I had never picked up a guitar. It was a lot of work to learn to play.”
The choreographer held six artistic residencies in 2024, notably in Aveiro, Lagos, São Miguel, Ourém, Lisbon, and London, where she developed her work not only choreographically but also in music selection and text writing.
In the choreography “Electra” (2010), Olga Roriz danced topless, and in “O Salvado,” she decided to go further in physical exposure and undresses completely in a “fleeting” moment.
“This decision seems absurd. When my body was in a place where I would feel comfortable showing it, I didn’t. But now I thought it was time to play with this issue,” she said, regarding the moment she undresses, leaves the stage, and returns with a coat, addressing the audience to joke about the situation and herself.
In 1976, the choreographer, who has directed four films, joined the Ballet Gulbenkian under Jorge Salavisa, becoming the principal dancer and chief choreographer until 1992, when she took over the artistic direction of the Lisbon Dance Company.
In 1995, she founded and continues to direct the Olga Roriz Company in Lisbon.
