steal you for a moment – Francisco Camacho and Meg Stuart

The artistic collaboration between Francisco Camacho and Meg Stuart dates back to Stuart’s earliest works, namely Disfigure Study (1991). Their deep personal connection has developed through various projects, such as the acclaimed solo piece by the American choreographer BLESSED, which Camacho has been performing since 2007. Now, for the first time in three decades, they come together on stage for a duet inspired by the mysterious Nuragic ruins of Sardinia. In the twilight of this ancient civilization, stone giants guarded the island’s shores – vestiges of a rich culture that slowly eroded away. Going beyond the walls of museums, Camacho and Stuart investigate the gaps, the absences in the records – what remains? 

Set designer Gaëtan Rusquet and sound designer Vincent Malstaf create a landscape that, like the nuragic sites, may have come from the future, or even exist outside of time. In this space, Camacho and Stuart excavate emotional artifacts. They look for contrast in size and scale: minimalist poses teem with feeling, while anger and strength are compressed and contained. By listening to the past, they build an archaeology of the present that doesn’t distinguish between the mystical and the mundane.

Francisco Camacho is a choreographer, dancer and artistic director of EIRA. He is internationally recognized as one of the protagonists of the contemporary dance movement that began in Portugal at the end of the 1980s, performing in Europe, America, Africa and Asia. 

Throughout his career, he has created several landmark works, such as O Rei no Exílio, Nossa Senhora das Flores, Superman and E PUR SI MUOVE, as well as pieces for groups such as Com a Morte me Enganas and Gust. He has collaborated with artists such as Meg Stuart, Vera Mantero and Mónica Lapa, and has made choreographic interventions for contemporary art exhibitions. With dance and theater training in Portugal and New York, Camacho was awarded the Casa da Imprensa Bordalo Prize and the ACARTE/Maria Madalena de Azeredo Perdigão Prize. As well as creating shows, he teaches regularly in Portugal and abroad.

Meg Stuart is a choreographer, dancer and director of Damaged Goods, founded in 1994. With a career marked by more than thirty productions, including solos, duets and large-scale choreographies such as BLESSED and VIOLET, her work moves between dance, theater and the visual arts. Stuart explores improvisation as a tool for emotional and social transformation, and dance as a form of healing. She has won several awards, including the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2018. As well as creating, she teaches workshops and master classes, both in and out of studios.