“All life is metaphysics in the dark, with the murmuring of gods and complete ignorance of the route as the only way forward.” Fernando Pessoa, in O Livro do Desassossego (The Book of Disquiet)
In this work I will attempt to create a kind of metaphysical ceremony or celebration in which the body is a means of communication par excellence. This exploration of a subtle physicality will, by its cumulative effect, become exuberant in the inner sensation and outer image, which the body is capable of evoking. In this Project I will assume the strange freedom which goes beyond words and representation and which gradually develops in us when decide not to deny its existence; it allows us to escape certain tyrannies and to be ourselves, regardless of the circumstances. Just our injured and grieving selves, deformed by habit and necessity. Thus, using physicality, I will create organic matter, which is shaped by life and resounds throughout the Universe.
choreography
PAULO RIBEIRO
music
VITOR RUA e “CAESER” de IGGY POP
costumes
MARIA GONZAGA
Light Design
RUI MARCELINO
interpretation
ELIANA CAMPOS, LEONOR KEIL, RITA OMAR, PAULO RIBEIRO, PETER MICHAEL DIETZ
production
COMPANHIA PAULO RIBEIRO
original co-production
SERVIÇO ACARTE OF THE F.C.G.
original support
SECRETARIA DE ESTADO DA CULTURA / I.P.B.D., E.P.I., MARIA GONZAGA, FUNDAÇÃO DAS DESCOBERTAS, TEATRO CINEARTE
Actual Support
MINISTÉRIO DA CULTURA / DGARTES, CÂMARA MUNICIPAL DE VISEU,
Absolute Première
16th January 1996, SALA POLIVALENTE OF SERVIÇO ACARTE OF FUNDAÇÃO CALOUSTE GULBENKIAN, LISBON
Remake Première
09th DECEMBER 2011, TEATRO VIRIATO, VISEU
“(...) The image of ‘Human Christ’s’ (Pain) contrasts with the laughter that emerges from the body (admirable and malleable choreography) which cleanses itself of interior darkness and familiarises us with solitude as a dwellingplace, accompanied by men who are born, suffer, agonise and die – Are we not short-sighted, and the world “an insufficient and continual mist ?” Pessoa new the truth, Paulo Ribeiro does too…”
Ana Marques Gastão, Diário de Notícias (22 January 1996)
“(…) Far from Olympus the active gods of Paulo Ribeiro, involved in their intrepid daily lives, mystify us with their pretend esotericism but never allow coldness or immobility to contaminate their falsely private universe.”
António Laginha, Correio da Manhã (18 January 1996)
“(…) Compared with “Saturday 2”, “Rumor de Deuses” (Murmuring of Gods) is a more contemplative work which allows the choreographer to advance in the exploration of a new vocabulary of movement, that is both ampler and softer, and new situations in which humour is constructed. I refer, for example, to abrupt changes in the interpolation of gestures and their representation out of context, making a play of the ambiguity that body language contains and the uncertainty and doubt that it creates. “Rumor de Deuses” is a remarkable piece for which Rui Marcelino has constructed accomplished lighting design, which is a decisive element in the communication of choreographic feeling (…) “Rumor de Deuses” counts with the splendid performances of Leonor Keil who show a growing maturity and refinement, Joana Novaes, Paula Moreno, Peter Michael Dietz and Patrick Harlay who give powerfull acting performances.”
Maria José Fazenda, O Público (19 January 1996)
“…Paulo Ribeiro has created exemplary pieces with his own special brand of choreography and has accustomed us to his capacity for renovation and alternation of vocabulary which he subtly achieves between the abstract and caricature and which results in a highly structured piece, a work demanding great powers of performance (…). A word too for the high acting qualities of the dancers achieved by Paulo Ribeiro… It is becoming rarer to find such purity and adaptability in such a difficult art. It all lies in the particular quality of the choreographer/dancer.”
Cristina Peres, Expresso (27 January 1996)
