São Castro

Graduated in Dance from Escola Superior de Dança / IPL and holds a Master’s degree in Choreographic Creation and Professional Practices from the same institution. She was a dancer with Balleteatro Companhia, Companhia Portuguesa de Bailado Contemporâneo, and Ballet Gulbenkian. She has worked with choreographers such as Né Barros, Isabel Barros, Rui Lopes Graça, Benvindo Fonseca, Sofia Silva, Vasco Wellenkamp, Paulo Ribeiro, Olga Roriz, Clara Andermatt, André Mesquita, Tânia Carvalho, Luís Marrafa, Hofesh Shechter / Companhia Instável, among others, as well as with directors Ricardo Pais and Marco Martins.

In 2009, she made her choreographic debut with the solo aTempo, and in the following years created works for the National Conservatory Dance School, Kale – Companhia de Dança, Companhia Instável, and Companhia de Dança de Almada (2016 and 2024). From 2011 to 2024, she developed an artistic collaboration with choreographer and dancer António M Cabrita. In 2015, the duo was awarded the SPA Authors Award for Best Choreography for Play False and received further nominations in subsequent years.

She was honoured with the Silver Medal of Merit and Distinction by the Lisbon Polytechnic Institute in 2016. In 2017, she created Dido and Aeneas for the National Ballet of Portugal, in co-creation with António M Cabrita, and in 2019 they directed the choreography for the opera Orphée et Eurydice, a production by Théâtre de la Mezzanine (France).

From 2017 to 2021, together with António M Cabrita, she was Artistic Director of Companhia Paulo Ribeiro. Since 2019, she curates the festival A CIDADE DANÇA, promoted by the Municipality of S. João da Madeira. She explores musical composition as an extension of her creative work, having composed for her own pieces as well as for choreographer Olga Roriz’s piece Deste Mundo e o Outro (2022) created for the National Ballet Company.

She authored the article “For an Embodiment of the Word: a Proposal for Artistic Research on the Physical Translation of the Word in the Dancing Body” in the Journal for Artistic Research, Creation and Technology (RIACT), and is the founder and Artistic Director of Play False | cultural association.

António M Cabrita

Holds a Master’s degree in Choreographic Creation and Professional Practices and a Bachelor’s degree in Dance from Escola Superior de Dança, Lisbon Polytechnic Institute. He also trained at the National Conservatory Dance School (2000) and studied Dance at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York. In parallel, he attended the Film course at New York Film Academy (2001) and the Creative Advertising course at Restart in Lisbon. As a performer, he worked with choreographers such as Rui Horta, Né Barros, Silke Z., António Tavares, Tânia Carvalho, Ana Rita Barata, Pedro Ramos, Felix Lozano, Paulo Ribeiro, and Luís Marrafa, among others. From 2007 to 2015, he was a resident artist at the German company SilkeZ./Resistdance, where he gained recognition with the piece Private Spaces, winner of the Cologne Dance Prize in 2008. He began choreographing in 2009 with the project To Fail. From 2011 to 2024, he developed an artistic collaboration with choreographer and dancer São Castro. In 2015, the duo was awarded the SPA Authors Award for Best Choreography for Play False and received further nominations in subsequent years.
In 2016, he was awarded the Silver Medal of Merit and Distinction by the Lisbon Polytechnic Institute. In 2017, he co-created the piece Dido and Aeneas with São Castro for the National Ballet Company. From 2017 to 2021, he was, together with São Castro, Artistic Director of Companhia Paulo Ribeiro. In March 2019, they founded the cultural association PLAY FALSE. Alongside his choreographic work, he has developed projects as a filmmaker, photographer, lighting designer, and sound composer. He is also dedicated to artistic research, having published in 2022 the article “Sketch for an Artistic Research Based on the Body’s Memory” in the Journal for Artistic Research, Creation and Technology (RIACT, no. 5). His most recent works include Sinais de Pausa, conceived and performed with São Castro, and TAKE, created for Companhia Instável. Since October 2024, he is the Programming Director of Teatro Viriato.