“LaB inDança” went through many different stages since it started in 2015, but none of them as difficult as the moment we have been living. The beginning of the pandemic in Portugal, in early March 2020, led to an understandable upheaval of all the plans that had been defined.

The participants of this inclusive project work within a particular artistic framework focused on self-awareness and the autonomy of the body. With regular weekly classes and artistic residencies with professionals of different artistic fields, the group has been attaining successive goals, following a plan established by Andermatt.

The successive confinements led to a dismembering of the group, requiring a redefinition of the activities that had been planned. The classes were transferred to remote learning, the in-person residencies were cancelled, and the usual personalized monitoring of the participants was greatly hindered by the pandemic all through the year.

The public performance scheduled for last December was cancelled, however Clara Andermatt, together with the project’s artistic team - António Gil, Luís Pedro Madeira, and the teachers Susana de Figueiredo and Jorge Gonçalves - are already working on a new artistic piece to be presented in the audiovisual format.

“LaB inDança” is a project promoted by the Municipality of Santa Maria da Feira, with artistic direction of Clara Andermatt and supported by the PARTIS programme, an initiative of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.