Dance Beyond Borders (Malta)

Echoes of Roots: Uncharted Routes

– a collective journey towards a decolonized migration narrative

This performance will occur at 5pm, Spazju Kreattiv at Studio A.

Dance Beyond Borders delves into the nuanced interplay of imperialism, colonialism, and racism that shape the narratives of Displacement and Borders. Through the poetic medium of Dance & Theatre, we weave a tapestry inclusive of a historical perspective, unwinding the stories of people seeking safety. Through collaborative hybrid residencies, we connect and ask new questions with international artists and the people from the refugee community. These encounters become a canvas, gathering diverse perspectives that breathe life into the core of our creation. Culminating in a dance of connectivity, our cross-disciplinary performance becomes a vessel for fresh narratives. We transcend borders, not just geographically, but emotionally, forging connections across differences with the hope of offering an authentic reflection to the discourse surrounding Migration and Displacement.

The "Dance Beyond Borders" project is made possible through the dedicated efforts of our participating partners, who share our passion for dance and art as a vehicle for change: Dance Festival Malta (MT), INTERPLAY - International Festival of Contemporary Dance and Performing Arts / Mozaico Danza (IT), Quinzena de Dança de Almada / Companhia de Dança de Almada (PT), Aerowaves Festival Sofia organized by Derida Dance Center represented by Art Link Foundation (BG) and Jerusalem International Dance Week / Machol Shalem Dance House (IL).

Choreography: Julienne Schembri and Deborah Falzon As Dance Beyond Borders, Deborah Falzon, flamenco dance artist, and Julienne Schembri, somatic movement artist, unite in their inquiry into the power of movement for social change.

Our artist rationale is embedded in socio-political practice, artivism and creative production.  Our body of work aims to inspire new questions, connect people, incite reflection, spark social action, and call for community change.

Our rationale is deeply rooted in a co-creative ethos; a convergence of perspectives amplifying the richness of our collective intelligence. We believe in the power of collaboration to unlock innovative solutions, especially when grappling with complex issues. By including people in our deliberations, we not only democratise the creative process but also ensure that diverse voices shape our narratives. It's a testament to our belief in the strength that arises when diverse minds and talents converge toward a shared purpose.

This is a project supported by the European Festivals Association (EFA). In partnership with Dance Festival Malta as leading partner, Direzione Interplay Italy, Quinzena De danca de Almada Portugal, Jerusalem Dance Week Israel & University of Malta School of Performing Arts Dance Studies Department.

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Paige Allerton & Matthias Camilleri (Malta) Collision

The performances will occur at 6pm, Spazju Kreattiv's Theatre.

Two characters coming from different worlds crash into each other one day. They speak different languages. Playfully and quite accidentally they discover each other and start to almost imperceptibly merge. However is this what they want? What they both want? They take us on a childish journey through thoughts, questions, curiosities, memories, togetherness, and rejection, to find adventure? To find perhaps wholeness of some kind?  In this world now, they collide. They collide over and over and over and in so doing insist on another way of life.

With original score by Albert Garzia, this piece is a continuation of an artistic collaboration between performers Paige Allerton, and Matthias Camilleri that aims to further explore the possibilities of interdisciplinary dance, storytelling and circus creation.

Choreographer and Director: Paige Allerton 

Dancers: Paige Allerton and Matthias Camilleri

Music: Albert Garzia Paige Allerton

Paige Allerton is an international performing artist, movement specialist, dramaturge and anthropologist born in Canada.  For the past ten years she has toured her work internationally in Asia, Africa, Europe, North and Central America for pedagogic, performance and research activities, focusing mainly on directing and creating original devised pieces in co-productions with groups of local artists.

Formerly Co-Artistic Director of Manifesto Poetico, where she worked from 2014 to 2024, she developed a way of composing live performance along with Carlos García Estévez that uses what they call SPATIAL DRAMATURGY.

She trained at the School of Jacques Lecoq, the Laboratory for the Study of Movement (LEM) in Paris, at the University of Toronto and with Manifesto Poetico. She was an associate artist at the Laboratory for the Study of Movement (LEM) at the school of Jacques Lecoq in Paris from 2016 to 2023.

Matthias Camilleri

Matthias Camilleri is a multi disciplinary performance and contemporary circus artist specialising in Chinese Pole and acrobatics. He commenced gymnastics training at the age of 7 at GymStars Gymnastics Club. He furthered his skills through Ballet and Contemporary at Johane Casabene Dance Conservatoire.

He performed locally, together with his team MalteseMotion until moving to London, UK to attend the National Centre for Circus Arts in 2017. There Matthias commenced his training on Chinese Pole, aerial straps and acro dance. Matthias completed his Bachelor's Degree in Circus Arts in 2020. In 2020 Matthias moved back to Malta where he expanded his practice into interdisciplinary performance, exploring the fields of dance, theatre, film and performance art.  He continues to perform locally and internationally. Albert Garzia Maltese composer Albert Garzia (b. 1977) started his musical training as an accordionist at an early age under Dorselle Mifsud with whom he also studied piano performance. He started his composition studies with Raymond Schiberras however his formal academic studies were in Industrial Electronics. He started undergraduate studies in music composition at the University of Malta with Dion Buhagiar, John Galea, Joseph Vella and Charles Camilleri among other. He completed his B.A. (Hons.) (with First-Class Honours) read concurrently with a Diploma in Sacred Music. He was admitted at the School of Composition and Contemporary Music at the Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester) to read for a Master’s degree in composition which he completed with distinction. There he studied with Adam Gorb, Paul Patterson, Gary Carpenter and David Horne among others. Garzia’s music ranges from orchestral to chamber combinations and has been performed in a variety of settings. While being versatile in his approach, his objective is principally an effective musical communication which he strives to achieve by fusing folk elements into a contemporary music language.

Rachel Calleja (Malta) Conversations by Moonlight

Connection - a graceful binding of two people in one shared moment, giving full attention to the other. Ears attuned, eyes locked, walls crumble, masks fade, inhibitions dissolve, honesty exchanged. Human to human, heart to heart, from one lived experience to the other. ‘Conversations By Moonlight’ is a dance theatre piece exploring beauty and awe from the very human experience of being seen and heard in shared humanity. Inspired and developed from the monologues of Angela Bettoni. Choreography facilitated by Rachel Calleja, co-created and performed by Angela Bettoni. Choreography: Rachel Calleja Performer: Angela Bettoni Rachel Calleja

Rachel Calleja is a choreographer, community artist, and creative therapist inspired by art's power to foster connections to the personal, communal, and intangible. Noticing the power of dance to empower and enliven, Rachel became determined to bring access and inclusion to dance in Malta. This led her to study for a Bachelors in Psychology (2009), and a B.A. in Dance Studies (2015) at the University of Malta, as well as Teacher Certification in DanceAbility at Impulstanz, Vienna (2012). Her most recent area of study is that of creative psychotherapy which aims to bring the power of creativity to therapeutic processes. Rachel has worked freelance as a choreographer, performer, educator and community artist since 2015 with past collaborations including Candoco Dance Company (UK) and Arts Council Malta (2023), Chester Dance (UK) (2021), Arts for the Blues (UK) (2022-2023), ZfinMalta (2016, 2023/4), Teatru Salesjan (2023), Spazju Kreattiv (2018-2021) and Opening Doors (2014-2019).

Angela Bettoni

Born in 2001, Angela is a writer, performer and advocate with Down Syndrome, completing her BA in Creative Arts at MCAST, where she previously received her Advanced Diploma in Performing Arts. She is part of the Opening Doors theatre group for adults with disabilities. Recent experiences/training include a 3- week internship with Stopgap Dance Company UK that included the 3-day Creative Tank Inclusive Dance Intensive; 1-month Erasmus placement at Hydrama Theatre Greece, with a theatre production of “The Bacchae” where she had a dance solo; 2-week Erasmus placement at Akropoditi Dance Festival in Greece participating in several workshops; and collaboration with the Mind Adventures Theatre Company in Sri Lanka, performing a duet to a monologue she wrote. She has been part of the 8- member mixed-ability cast choreographed by Douglas Comley for the ŻiguŻajg Festival for Children and Young People from 2021-23. From 2022-23 Angela participated in the Teatru Manoel Youth Dance Training programme.

The MVMT (Malta) Il-Ħajja

The journey from youth to adulthood often begins with an inherent sense of optimism and a belief in the inherent goodness of people. In our early years, the world seems like a place of endless possibilities, where everyone is genuine, trustworthy, and has good intentions. This perception is shaped by a relatively limited scope of experiences and a lack of exposure to the complexities of human nature. This shift in perspective is a natural part of the maturation process. It encourages personal growth, resilience, and a more realistic understanding of the human condition. While it may be disheartening to realise that not everyone is as benevolent as we once believed, this awareness also equips us with the wisdom to make more informed decisions, cultivate genuine relationships, and navigate the complexities of life with a more grounded and discerning outlook. Choreography: Cheryl Lofreda

Performers: Miguel Azzopardi Portelli

Rya Fenech

Charlize Falzon

Shantea Cardona

Charlize Falzon

Tara Azzopardi

Maria Micallef

Chloe Scicluna

Cheryl Lofreda

Thea Sapiano Music: Crown - Kendrick Lamar Cheryl Lofreda / The MVMT Cheryl Lofreda is the founder & director of her own team: Concept of Movement \ THE MVMT which was founded in 2016. She directed movement on several jobs locally, performed abroad & took part in several adverts & jobs abroad as well. Cheryl Started Teaching Internationally abroad at the age of 19. She taught and assisted in workshops in Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Greece, France, USA, Mexico, Belgium & more) She also formed part of a Company & performed in the Theatre Show - ‘’Piece of Mind’’ by Mecnun Giasar in 2017.

In 2018 she travelled to assist & perform with Mecnun Giasar. (building block, snow globe, World of Dance Mexico, World of Dance Berlin & more). Cheryl has been trained & also collaborated with the best dancers & mentors in her movement around the world. She took Two of her Teams to compete in the Biggest Urban Dance Competition World of Dance Switzerland and placed 1st and 3rd in the Upper Team Division. 

Cheryl is also working with Nike Own the Floor Malta where her aim is to continue to build a strong dance community on the island.

Beatriz Mira & Tiago Barreiros (Portugal) the horMoans

Two inhabitants from a distant land enter a Turkish bath.In this place of pleasure and healing, where senses are stimulated but decorum is rule, a succession of unexpected events awakens unknown responses in their body. In an attempt to curb the untamable beast contained by their occasional wear, they find themselves exposed to the particularities of emotion and desire. The bodies escape, fall, scream, sing, whistle, sweat, stay.

This grotesque derailment of the senses that would stun anyone questions the primordial, the impulses, the places. Do they recognise where they live?

In a cold expression of human loneliness, occupying the tangent between the comic and the tragic, the ice is broken, and the bath becomes an arena. Who's watching? Choreography/Performers: Beatriz Mira & Tiago Barreiros

Beatriz Mira & Tiago Barreiros are two dancers/creators developing choreographic work together. Beatriz began her career in 2019 as a freelancer and Tiago danced in Introdans from 2016 to 2019. They met in 2020 as both were part of CPBC Company’s cast from 2020 to 2023. Their partnership unfolded through the creation of CORRENTE, a duet premièred at Lugar Futuro Festival 2021. In 2022 this duet was selected for RIDCC and received the Het Nationale Ballet’s Partner Award, an invitation to choreograph for the dancers of the Junior Company. The piece Out in the Heartland premièred at Holland Dance Festival 2024. Further exploring their work in a duet format, they premièred CAFE. at Blois Danse Festival 2023. In the same year, after participating at 10 Sentidos Festival, they’ve been invited by Studio ProArt to create a new work that premièred at Spring Dance Days 2024 in Freiburg, under the EFFEA program and supported partnership with Dance Festival Malta.

IMPORTANT 

The programme for Dance Festival Malta Day 2 occurs in two venues for which two separate tickets need to be purchased. Tickets out soon.

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