As part of La Nuit du Cirque 2025, the company Concorda presents the world premiere of its new show ConcorDanças, a multidisciplinary contemporary circus project that blends intangible heritage, performative practice, and circus language. The performances will take place on 14, 15 and 16 November in the city of Pombal, and are part of the 2025 Outdoor Arts Portugal Creation Grant programme.

Conceived as a vibrant tribute to Portuguese popular culture, ConcorDanças establishes a dialogue between traditional dances, regional costumes, and folk music and contemporary circus languages such as juggling, acrobatics, physical theatre, and object manipulation. In a festive and accessible format, the show transports audiences into a universe where tradition and experimentation intertwine, revisiting collective identity through the moving body.

The work is grounded in an intensive process of ethnographic research into the rhythms, choreographies, and costumes of various Portuguese regions. This process, conducted with the support of musician and expert João Godinho, informed the creation of original music and a visual aesthetic that honours the codes of tradition without fixing them. The choreographic richness of Portuguese folklore is thus reimagined by a young, multidisciplinary cast, with deep knowledge of circus techniques and their potential to generate new poetic languages.

With artistic direction by Catarina Gameiro and Mariana Frazão, and performed by Catarina Gameiro, Diogo Esperança Alves, José Azevedo, and Mariana Frazão, the show unfolds as a whirlwind of sensations, where "skirts swirl, couples spin, and smiles are juggled", as described by the artistic team. With no spoken text, ConcorDanças relies on sensory and universal communication, allowing the work to resonate with diverse audiences and to be presented in international contexts.

The Outdoor Arts Portugal programme is promoted by Bússola, with the support of the Portuguese Republic - Culture, Youth and Sport, through the Directorate-General for the Arts. The creation grants are developed in partnership with 23 Milhas/Municipality of Ílhavo and Casa Varela/Municipality of Pombal.