“MECHITA”, by Sol Garcia
MECHITA is a creation in which five women share a mirror-stage, invoking the body as a living archive, a territory of memory and a site of resistance. Drawing on fragments of a lost childhood, freedom, voice and femininity, the piece brings together the performers’ experiences and memories, exploring the marks left by abandonment, abuse and what remains in the body after what could not be said.
Between the singularity of each story and the construction of a collective body, MECHITA searches for the places where memory is transformed, where the voice re-emerges, and where girlhood and womanhood meet. A poetic celebration of transformation, freedom and the fleeting beauty of being alive.
Sol Garcia is a performer, choreographer and teacher working in contemporary dance and performance. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Dance from the Escola Superior de Dança and a Master’s degree in Contemporary Artistic Creation from the University of Aveiro. She began her artistic journey through urban and social dance, joining Dance2xs Portugal and performing at the MTV European Music Awards. In 2006, she won the Nike Women Portugal competition and later the second season of the television programme So You Think You Can Dance? Portugal.
Since 2009, she has worked as a performer with choreographers and companies including Victor Hugo Pontes, Tiago Rodrigues, Hofesh Shechter, Olga Roriz, Companhia Erva Daninha, Joana Providência, Clara Andermatt, Companhia Instável, Albano Jerónimo, Nuno Preto, João Lucas and Roberto Olivan.
In 2024, she joined the cast of Rodrigo Areias’ feature film A Pedra Sonha Dar Flor (The Stone Dreams of Blooming) and became a member of the European contemporary dance research collective iCoDaCo – International Contemporary Dance Collective.
As a creator, she develops a practice centred on the relationship between body, memory, ancestry and community-based creation, exploring the body as a living archive and a poetic territory.
Dance / M12 – 50 min
heritage – voice – choral body – lost childhood – girlhood / womanhood
Nov 27 and 28 / Café Teatro at Teatro Campo Alegre
Creation: Sol Garcia
Co-creation and Performance: Sol Garcia, Thalia Agapaki, Inês Luzio, Beatriz Rôla
Trainee Performer: Andreia Lopes
Research, Set Design and Visual Concept Support: Cheila Garcia
Dramaturgical Support: Cristina Planas Leitão
External Eye: Daniela Cruz
Musical Composition: Inês Luzio, Beatriz Rôla
Lighting Design: Cárin Geada
Costume Design: Cacá Otto Reus
Executive Production: Teresa Camarinha
Administration and Press Office: Coleção B
Residency Support: Sekoia Artists’ Shelter 2025 and 2026, Companhia Erva Daninha, CAMPUS Paulo Cunha e Silva, Estúdios Victor Cordon, PAZ – Performance Arts Zone, Associação Recreativa e Cultural de Serzedo
Co-production: Vila Real Municipal Theatre, Instável – Centro Coreográfico and Teatro Municipal do Porto*
Creation Support: Fundação GDA, Nome Próprio (Criar em Nome Próprio Incubator), Ccdr-Norte Pontual
Acknowledgements: Tiago Amorim, Alice Amorim, Laura Amorim, Mário Garcia, Bárbara Silva, Miriam Garcia, Mercedes Quijada.
* As part of the Palcos Instáveis cycle