I began my dance studies at a school that ended up being the fundamental basis for my first experiences of the body, movement, the stage and artistic communication. Ginasiano Dance School. I inhabited, got to know, travelled, developed and held on to everything that the years of training had to bring me. It led me to continue searching for more: more workshops inside and outside the country, more work with independent choreographers until I arrived at Ballet Contemporâneo do Norte, where I continued to dance for many years. My first choreographic experiences were at the genesis of NEC – Núcleo de Experimentação Coreográfica, where I met and crossed paths with Joclécio Azevedo and other emerging artists. Along the way, I turned to the social sciences, completing a degree in Economics and, later, a Master’s degree in Dance Teaching (ESD).
Society and the relationship with others led me to pedagogy, teaching for over 15 years in various supplementary, articulated and integrated primary schools (Lugar Presente, Ginasiano Escola de Dança, AMVP, among others). I taught in higher education (Escola Superior de Dança – BA and MA and UTAD – BA in Theatre and Performing Arts). I have always had an active professional relationship with dance, working as a movement assistant with Nuno Cardoso (Ao cabo Teatro), Orquestra do Norte and Companhia Instável, working with national and international choreographers: Gregory Macoma, Willi Dorner and Roberto Olivan.
My most recent work is with Victor Hugo Pontes (Nome Próprio) as assistant artistic director on the choreographic piece BANTU.
I also maintain a close relationship as a trainer and teacher, collaborating with professional institutions (Nome Próprio, Estúdios Vitor Córdon, Companhia Paulo Ribeiro, among others). – Cátia Esteves