LAST 3 PERFORMANCE & CLOSING PARTY

The 26th Cyprus Contemporary Dance Festival continues its rich program and moves toward its conclusion with three remarkable performances, taking place on June 18, 20, and 22 at Rialto Theatre. With a diverse and international lineup, this year’s Festival hosts artists and companies from seven countries, offering audiences the opportunity to experience works that engage with the contemporary dance scene in dynamic and thought-provoking ways. All performances begin at 20:30.

After the final performance of the Festival on Sunday, June 22, we will have a closing party at Sousou Bar, located right next to the theatre. The evening will continue with a DJ set and curated music by Mighty Scoop, in a festive atmosphere to bid farewell to this year’s Festival with dance and summer vibes.

18/6  He aquí un acto romántico (Behold a romantic act) (60’) RICHARD MASCHERIN| Spain

Direction and Choreography: Richard Mascherin

Dancers: Lucía Montes, Javier Mario Salcedo, Richard Mascherin

Text and Dramaturgical Advice: Sergio Martínez Vila

Original Music: Alejandro Da Rocha

Lightning and Technical Coordination: Laura Iturralde

Assistance and Choreography Coordination: Juan Carlos Toledo

Sound and Sound Space: Iñaki Ruiz Maeso

Music Advice: Alberto Cernadas

Costumes and Scenography: Richard Mascherin

Costume Making: Marisa Maggi

Booking and management: Lola Ortiz de Lanzagorta (New DanceManagement)

Co-production: Centro Coreográfico Canal - Teatros del Canal

What ends, and what begins, with an accident?

What hurts more — a punch in the nose or a kiss on the lips?

Is hating another way of loving?

Do you want me to give myself to you?

Would you still love me if I didn’t need you?

Can I fall over with you?

What is a romantic act?

The piece works with both physical and emotional falls to create a map of uprooted bodies thrown into the void. Displaying a tense physicality and a cinematic atmosphere, the piece revolves around three victims who assume — in a ceremonial mood — a spiral of violent situations, turning accidents and provocations, attachments and detachments into a sacred rite of passage toward transcendence. Their passionate surrender has two sides: on the one hand, it intoxicates and endangers; on the other, it strengthens and vivifies — as no one can rise from the ground without first having fallen into it. Behold the statement of an unbroken soul. Behold a heroic resistance. Behold a romantic act.

Richard Mascherin is a Spanish artist focusing on contemporary performing arts and audiovisuals. He graduated in Madrid in Contemporary Dance, General Film Direction, and Film and TV Stunts. As a dancer, he has worked with various companies such as Sharon Fridman and La Veronal, among others. In some way, the concept of falling has been present throughout his career — both as a performer and as a creator — since 2015. He leads his own project, which branches out into different forms and stage proposals, where the inevitability of the fall is the core concept of his research and creative process. The project explores and connects various media: dance, performance, video, and photography. Richard has choreographed several works, including Caer, Caer, Caer (Fall, fall, fall), Vacío Espiritual (Spiritual Void), and He Aquí Un Acto Romántico (Behold a Romantic Act), which have been presented at major festivals in Spain, as well as in Italy and Bulgaria.

20/6 BIRDBOY (45’) EMMA MARTIN / UNITED FALL | Ireland

Created by: Emma Martin in collaboration with performer Kévin Coquelard

Stage Design: Orla Clogher & Emma Martin

Sound and Composition: Dunk Murphy

Lighting Design: Stephen Dodd

Voiceover: Faolán Ó Mhurchú-Toner

Stage Manager: Sinead Cormack

LX Programmer: Susan Collins

Production Manager: Peter Jordan

Technical Manager: Conor Burnell

Producer: Jill Murray

Education Consultant: Shane O’Reilly

Video and Image: Luca Truffarelli

Birdboy is a tribute to all the weird kids left on the sidelines. Using the metaphor of a bird and its perceived freedom, the piece burrows into the chaotic and vivid inner world of someone who doesn’t fit in. Seen through a child’s eyes and combining dance, sound, and objects, Birdboy is a journey through a frenzied and sometimes beautiful landscape of fear, isolation, fantasy, and letting go, performed by dancer Kévin Coquelard. Birdboy is the first work Emma has created for both young and adult audiences.

Emma Martin started out as a ballet dancer. She creates multidisciplinary work that has expanded into film, installation, opera, and theatre. Her work is sweaty, messy, music-heavy, and human — exploring the friction between rawness and delicacy, high art and popular culture, past and future, order and chaos, homage and intent. She graduated from the John Cranko School in Stuttgart and holds a BA in Russian and Drama & Theatre Studies from Trinity College Dublin. As a choreographer, she created her first show in 2010 and has been producing work through her company United Fall since 2018. Her previous performance works include King/Shrine, Night Dances, Birdboy, Orfeo ed Euridice, Girl Song, Dancehall, and Tundra. Her work has been presented nationally and internationally, touring throughout Europe and the UK. Emma is an associate artist at the Visual Centre for Contemporary Art and Dance Ireland, and an Aerowaves 2023 selected artist. United Fall is based in County Carlow and is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland, with international touring generously supported by Culture Ireland.

22/6 SONOMA (75') MARCOS MORAU / LA VERONAL | Spain 

Idea and Artistic Direction: Marcos Morau

Production Direction: Juanma G. Galindo

Choreography: Marcos Morau in collaboration with the dancers

Dancers: Lorena Nogal, Marina Rodríguez, Ariadna Montfort, Núria Navarra, Laia Duran, Anna Hierro, Alba Barral, Julia Cambra, Sau Ching Wong 

Text: El Conde de Torrefiel, La Tristura and Carmina S. Belda

Répétiteurs: Estela Merlos & Alba Barral

Artistic and Dramaturgical Advice: Roberto Fratini

Vocal Assistant: Mònica Almirall

Technical Direction & Lighting Design: Bernat Jansà

Stage Manager, Props and Special Effects: David Pascual

Sound Design: Juan Cristóbal Saavedra

Sound on Tour: Iñaki Varela

Voice: María Pardo

Set Design: Bernat Jansà and David Pascual

Costume Design: Silvia Delagneau

Dressmaking: Mª Carmen Soriano

Millinery: Nina Pawlowsky

Masks: Juan Serrano – Gadget Efectos Especiales 

Giant Maker: Martí Doy

Props: Mirko Zeni 

Production and logistics: Cristina Goñi Adot and Angela Boix 

In collaboration with: Graner – Fàbriques de Creació and Teatre L’Artesà 

The word Sonoma does not officially exist in Spanish, but it could stem from the Greek soma (body) or the Latin sonum (sound): the sound of the body, or the body of sound. Today, history moves so fast we can barely follow it; we fall into it, shouting as if on a roller coaster. Sonoma is the sound of the body falling — the human rage to stay alive and awake. Marcos Morau revisits ideas from his 2016 piece Le Surréalisme au service de la Révolution, inspired by Buñuel, whose life bridged medieval Calanda and cosmopolitan Paris, faith and surrealist freedom. Sonoma represents a return to the body, to organic matter, journeying through dreams and fiction, where the familiar becomes strange and meaning dissolves. In an indigenous language, Sonoma means "valley of the moon" — a place of drums and cries that soothe rather than overwhelm. It is a scream at the limits of existence.

Marcos Morau (Valencia, 1982) trained in photography, movement, and theatre between Valencia, Barcelona, and New York. He creates imaginary worlds and landscapes with a sharp, lucid vision of contemporaneity. In 2004, he founded La Veronal, now one of Europe's leading dance companies. La Veronal has toured in more than 30 countries, performing at prestigious venues such as the Théâtre National de Chaillot in Paris, the Festival d’Avignon, and Sadler’s Wells in London. Morau received Spain’s National Dance Prize in 2013, was named Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture, and was selected as Choreographer of the Year 2023 by Tanz magazine. Beyond his work with La Veronal, he collaborates with renowned companies such as Nederlands Dans Theater and the Ballet de l'Opéra de Lyon. Since 2023, he has been an associate artist at Staatsballett Berlin, pursuing new dialogues between dance, opera, and physical theatre.

INFO:

Organised by: Deputy Ministry of Culture and Rialto Theatre

In collaboration with: Limassol Municipality

Media Sponsors: Phileleftheros, CyBC, Russian Radio Cyprus, Lenta Cyprus, and Radio Monte Carlo

Technical Support: Event Pro

Supported by: Nicosia Municipal Theatre, Nea Kinisi , Lemesos Newspaper, Limassol Today, Limassol Tourism Board, Vestnik Kipra, Social et al.

Ticket Price: €8 

E-tickets: www.rialto.com.cy

Box Office: 77 77 77 45 (Monday–Friday, 10:00–15:00)

Free admission for students, pupils, soldiers, pensioners, people with disabilities and professional dance artists.