Considered a defining work in Clara Andermatt’s artistic journey, O Cansaço dos Santos is now revisited through a new remounting developed as a co-production between Lugar Presente and Companhia Clara Andermatt.
Premiered in 1992 by Companhia de Dança de Almada, O Cansaço dos Santos established itself as a landmark work in the history of contemporary dance in Portugal, having been presented in an extensive national and international tour. More than three decades later, its relevance remains fully current, as demonstrated by the successive remountings undertaken by professional dance companies and dance training institutions.
In O Cansaço dos Santos, Clara Andermatt deepens her exploration of the most primary and archetypal dimensions of human emotions. It is a work with a strong symbolic charge, in which ritualistic and religious icons are infused with intense physicality and an latent sexuality. The piece constructs a theatrical portrait of two characters in a constant state of searching—of themselves, of the other, and of answers that remain unresolved.
In this restaging, the cast assumes a mixed character, bringing together semi-professional and non-professional performers, fostering intergenerational dialogue, shared learning, and the mutual enrichment of creative practices. Clara Andermatt takes on the artistic direction of the project and is joined by Amélia Bentes as assistant to the creation, a particularly significant contribution given that she was a performer in O Cansaço dos Santos between 1992 and 2000. Her presence brings a unique historical perspective to the process, along with an interpretative memory that is fundamental to the rigorous and sensitive transmission of the work.
The restaging of O Cansaço dos Santos, in partnership with Escola Lugar Presente, stands as a gesture of appreciation and preservation of Portuguese contemporary dance heritage, consolidating a strategic partnership between artistic creation, training, and the transmission of Portuguese choreographic heritage.
| PERFORMANCE HISTORY |
[1992] – PREMIERE
Cineteatro de Almada, Portugal
Performers: Cláudia Dias and Paula Tavares, Companhia de Dança de Almada
[1992]
Sommertheatre Festival – Cologne, Germany
Performers: Amélia Bentes and Mónica Lapa, Companhia Clara Andermatt
[1993]
National Tour
Maratona Para a Dança, Teatro Maria Matos – Lisbon, Portugal
Danças na Cidade 93, Central Tejo – Lisbon, Portugal
Festas da Cidade – Loures, Portugal
Municipal Auditorium – Guarda, Portugal
Centro Cultural de Belém – Lisbon, Portugal
Performers: Amélia Bentes and Mónica Lapa, Companhia Clara Andermatt
[1994]
European Tour
New Moves Festival – Glasgow, Scotland
Lantaren Venster – Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Performers: Amélia Bentes and Mónica Lapa, Companhia Clara Andermatt
[1995]
European Tour
Time Festival – Ghent, Belgium
Festival aan de Werf – Utrecht, The Netherlands
Performers: Amélia Bentes and Mónica Lapa, Companhia Clara Andermatt
[1996]
United States Tour
Dance Theatre Workshop – New York
Wagon Train Project – Lincoln, Nebraska
On the Boards – Seattle
Performers: Amélia Bentes and Mónica Lapa, Companhia Clara Andermatt
[2000]
Restaging
Tanzhaus NRW – Düsseldorf, Germany
Performers: Panja Fladerer and Vera Sander, Vera Sander Art Connects Company
Restaged for the German company Vera Sander Art Connects
[2010]
Restaging
Teatro Municipal Joaquim Benite – Almada, Portugal
Performers: Carla Jordão and Débora Queiroz, Companhia de Dança de Almada
Restaged for Companhia de Dança de Almada as part of the commemorative programme marking 20 years of activity of CDA, “Revisiting the past, envisioning the future.”
[2013 – (...)]
Academic Context
Part of the repertoire of the Escola Superior de Dança within the course Portuguese Repertoire Studies, taught by Amélia Bentes.
[2014]
Academic Context
Fontys Dance Academy – Tilburg, The Netherlands
Performers: Yente Burlage and Zoey van Mierlo
Graduation performance
[2026]
Restaging
IPDJ – Viseu, Portugal
Performers: Mariana Gonçalves and Sara Lopes
Restaging developed in co-production with Escola Lugar Presente, as part of the programming of the Lugar Futuro Festival