The “Forget Me Not” residency, with choreographers Catarina Casqueiro & Tiago Coelho, is supported by the European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists – EFFEA, an initiative of the European Festivals Association (EFA), co-funded by the European Union.

Led by Ca.DA - Companhia de Dança de Almada / Quinzena de Dança de Almada, it brings together partners such as Šibenik Dance Festival (Croatia), the Aerowaves Festival in Sofia by Derida Dance Center - Art Link Foundation (Bulgaria) and the MasDanza - The International Contemporary Dance Festival of the Canary Islands (Spain), which will host local residencies, promoting the project and ensuring all logistical and technical requirements. The Dance Festival Malta and the Interplay Festival will also be contributors in this project, participating in online events.

In this project, choreographers Catarina Casqueiro & Tiago Coelho will work for the co-creation of “Forget Me Not”. To achieve this, different residencies will be occurring in Almada and in the countries of the partner Festivals fostering the contact with different European contexts. The work developed by the duo will be enriched with contributions from recognised artists dealing with the same subjects: dance, body and memory. These contributions will happen during the residencies and also in online meetings with the participation of all organisations involved.

The “Forget Me Not” project, led by Quinzena de Dança de Almada, will bring together many international creative minds present in the different festivals, collaborating in the exchange of ideas and experiences.

The subject of the creation is very much in line with the present development of the contemporary dance field. Questioning the body-mind relation and its role on memory acquisition and loss is paramount in the contemporary debate among dance artists and academics. Inspired by “The Caretaker” project by the musician Leyland Kirby, the artists propose an insightful exploration into the human, mind-body connection, and questions related to memory loss. The subject will be approached with the collaboration of leading artists, academics and local communities invited to the different Partner Festivals.

This project is the result, and comes in the continuity of previous works by these choreographers. The residencies are opportunities for the fulfilment of their needs in terms of internationalisation and confrontation with other realities. To work in different contexts with professionals who are open and willing to debate around the topic of their creation, will forward their research, opening new horizons. The possibility of working in different physical spaces (residencies), being in contact with different artistic and research approaches, and the feedback coming from the professionals they will encounter, will enrich and substantiate their investigation towards the final creation. Also, the possibility of networking with peers and programmers, will maximise possibilities for future collaborations and/or invitations.

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