Homage to Josephine Baker at the Theatre Culturgest in Lisbon
 

“After listening to a speech on the radio by the Portuguese President Mario Soares (I don’t remember if it was during 10th June or 25th April), in which he spoke about the world at that time with something one might call an elevation of the spirit (something that unfortunately is surprising in a politician these days, so you listen to it with great pleasure), I connected that speech to Glenn Gould and to his Goldberg Variations (the ones of maturity), to Kazuo Ohno, and also to an expression that came into my mind: “greatness of soul”. My big wish of a victory of the spirit, is what I think this association reveals.
It is one thing that I would like to find or create: a vast territory in which richness of spirit prevails. (Is massification of education the answer?). This spirit I’m talking about has no wish to abolish the body, has no shame of its desire and of its sex, what this spirit wishes is to eradicate coarseness, the frightful foolishness, the deep ignorance, the poverty of horizons, the materialism, etc. etc. (unfortunately, this seems to be a long list...).
It would be a new dichotomy, not the overtired “body-spirit” (empty of meaning, frankly!), but the unhappily modern “stupidity-spirit” (or maybe “ignorance-spirit”) or all possible variants (It would be nice to make up my mind for one...).”
 

* What he really said about Josephine:
“one mysterious Thing, neither primitive or civilised, or beyond time, in the sense that emotion is beyond arithmetic”

Vera Mantero studied classical dance with Anna Mascolo and danced in the Gulbenkian Ballet between 1984 and 1989. Mantero started choreographing in 1987 and, since 1991, has been presenting her solo and group work all over Europe, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Singapore, South Korea and the USA.

Of her solo work mention goes to Perhaps she could dance first and think afterwards (1991), Olympia (1993), One mysterious Thing, said e.e.cummings* (1996), What can be said about Pierre (2011) and The Caldeirão Highlanders, exercises in fictional anthropology (2012). Her group pieces include Under (1993), For Boring and Profound Sadnesses (1994), Poetry and Savagery (1998), Until the moment when God is destroyed by the extreme exercise of beauty (2006) and We are going to miss everything we don't need (2009).

In 2013 and 2014 Vera Mantero created the performance installations Shadows on offer and More for Less than for More, this last piece presented in two different versions: occupying the whole space of the auditorium – seating and proscenium - in 2013, and at urban vegetable gardens created for the final presentation of the project in 2014. More for Less than for More was created in partnership with Culturgest and Maria Matos Municipal Theatre under the scope of the Create to connect project financed by the European Commission. These projects, as well as the artist’s new creation The Clean and The Dirty, premiered in April 2016 at the Maria Matos Theatre in the framework of the cycle The Three Ecologies, clearly reflect the choreographer's concerns for fundamental issues such as the environment, economic sustainability, social cohesion and inclusion, and citizenship.

Her artistic work has been recognized with institutional prizes such as the Prémio Almada (Ministry of Culture - 2002) or the Prémio Gulbenkian Arte for her career as creator and performer (2009), as well as through initiatives such as the retrospective organized by Culturgest in 2009, entitled Month of March, Month of Vera, or the Portuguese representation at the 26th São Paulo Art Biennale (2004) with a work co-created with the sculptor Rui Chafes, entitled Eating your Heart Out. Recently, the influent Brazilian newspaper O Globo elected The Caldeirão Highlanders, exercises in fictional anthropology as one of the best 10 dance pieces presented in 2014.

The city of Fundão dedicates a year to the artist (April 2015- April 2016) with the project Passage #2, which includes the presentation of several performances, the work with local school students and the recreation of Eating your heart out for a treetop walkway in Fundão. This new version, entitled Eating your heart out in the trees was presented in 2016 at the Mermaid Garden in Coimbra, for which Rui Chafes created a new sculpture.

Since 2014, Vera Mantero integrates, together with Jorge Andrade and Pedro Penim, the cast of the Portuguese version of Quizoola! by Tim Etchells/Forced Entertainment.

Recently, Vera Mantero was invited by Boris Charmatz to be part of 20 Dancers for the 20th Century, a living archive of the defining choreographic solos of the 20th century, that took place at Tate Modern (London) and at the Paris Opera/Palais Garnier (Paris) in 2015, and at the Staatsoper, in Hannover (Tanzkongress) in June 2016, and will be presented in December at the Museo Reina Sofía (Madrid).

Vera Mantero participates regularly in international improvisation projects alongside improvisers and choreographers such as Lisa Nelson, Mark Tompkins, Meg Stuart and Steve Paxton. Since the year 2000, Vera Mantero has also been exploring vocal work, either singing the repertoire of different authors or co-creating experimental music projects. She regularly teaches composition and improvisation in Portugal and abroad.

Since 2001, the National Center for Dance (CND) has been making recordings of its shows and educational programming and has created resources from these filmed performances (interviews, danced conferences, meetings with artists, demonstrations, major lessons, symposia specialized, thematic arrangements, etc.).