Vera Mantero

Vera Mantero is probably the most important choreographer of the Portugal dance scene of the nineties. Although she is no stranger to the Slovene audience, her earlier solo creations --which enter the dark sphere of the inexpressible-- will undoubtedly be a surprise to many. The gap between the depth of inner feelings and the impenetrable sheath of external expression, evident from the beginning, widens and produces intense pain. Its intensity makes the pain not only bearable, but also a source of aesthetic pleasure. The artist, born in 1966 in Lisbon, discovered dance in her early childhood. She became a ballerina, but was soon to discover the boundaries of classical dance. Although she worked with the Ballet Gulbenkian for five years, it was only with her stay in New York that she completely abandoned classical training. Consequently, she expanded her expression, moving it in the direction of theatre, connecting it closely with speech and music. To Vera Mantero, dance vocabulary seems simply to poor to be able to display that side of the inner being which doesn’t contain only pleasant things. Instead of using the term dance performances she prefers to call them simply performances or spectacles. The lion’s share of her many times awarded "creative despair”  lies in her solo performance.