SENSORIANAS, arises from an invitation by Victor Córdon Studios to Clara Andermatt to create and serve as the artistic director of a performance based on Persian culture. This production will be developed through research, historical and artistic analysis, and a mapping of the Iranian community’s situation in Portugal.
The creation is part of the OUTROS MUNDOS program, developed by Victor Córdon Studios. OUTROS MUNDOS is an initiative dedicated to migrant communities residing in Portugal, aiming to create public sharing and interaction platforms through the study of their cultures.
The program cyclically selects a target country and seeks to highlight its culture through the perspective of a choreographer in the field of dance. For the first edition, Iran was chosen, and the invitation to create was extended to choreographer Clara Andermatt.
With the aim of expanding the reach of the project and fostering a closer connection between the school community and the performance, the presentations include a set of cultural mediation activities, such as NA ESCOLA with Margarida Bak Gordon (artistic assistant and researcher) and an Open Rehearsal.
I was invited by the Estúdios Victor Córdon to explore Iran and its culture through the creation of a piece to be presented as part of the Outros Mundos programme.
I embraced the invitation as an opportunity to approach Persian culture, allowing myself to explore and celebrate its richness.
I wished to combine enchantment and contemplation through an artistic experience rooted in the contributions of the Iranian diaspora living in Portugal. We charted the thematic path of the piece by gathering individual perspectives carrying references, suggestions and directions for research.
We explored different styles of traditional Iranian dance, reinterpreted by myself and the collaborators involved in this creation through the lens of contemporary dance. The focus lies on the female universe, with Iranian poetry and music, among others, serving as integrating and inspiring elements.
I do not seek to encompass the vastness of Persian culture, nor do I claim to represent it — an impossible and undesirable task for someone approaching, for the first time, such a vast and complex reality.
Instead, I propose a subjective vision driven by the desire to foster encounters and build cultural bridges. A curious and engaged gaze towards a reality very different from our own. A space for dialogue and reflection on aspects of everyday life, freedom and cultural diversity that we must continue to defend and celebrate in today’s global context.
― Clara Andermatt