António Variações on stage at Cineteatro Louletano, or rather, actor Sérgio Praia with the band that accompanied him in the film, a concert in tribute to Chico Buarque, with a collective of Brazilian musicians, the qualifiers for the Young Musicians Award from Antena2. Jorge Palma in dialogue with the Loulé Jazz Trio, Carlos Bica, with his trio of bass, turntables and tenor saxophone celebrating the 250th anniversary of Beethoven, Sofia Escobar with a together of professors from the Loulé Music Conservatory.
These are just some of the highlights of the first semester of the program Louletano Cineteatro, which, throughout 2020, celebrates its 90 years of age, showing the youth and the “restlessness” of its cultural proposals.
The program was presented this Tuesday, at the beginning of the evening, to the sound of the Orquestra de Jazz do Algarve, at the Joins Artistic Space, in Vale do Lobo, in other words, a little far from the Louletano Cineteatro which, these days, is undergoing “structural reinforcement works”, as explained by Dália Paulo, municipal director of the Loulé Chamber.
But the choice of location had to do, above all, with the philosophy of cultural programming work by the Cineteatro Louletano team, headed by Paulo Pires, which involves working with the entire territory of the municipality.
"Culture is not just about programming, it is necessary to listen to people, understand the dynamics in the territory and, from there, create this concern of our 90 years," explained the municipal director.
The nine decades of Louletano Cineteatro they are fulfilled in 2020, not only with a program “for all tastes”, as Adriana Freire Nogueira, regional director of Culture of the Algarve, summarized, but also with a new image, which translates into a new logo.
«Paulo [Pires] and I have been saying, for two years, that we had to change the image of the Cineteatro, also because our audience is no longer the same», revealed Dália Paulo, adding that the new image was created by the designer Susana Loyal.
Vítor Aleixo, mayor of Loulé, speaking about 90 years of «an emblematic and central facility in the Algarve», began by praising «high quality municipal employees with great passion for what they do». "If it weren't for them, it wouldn't be possible for Loulé to have the national notoriety it currently has."
The mayor then drew attention to the fact that there was "a new generation of Loulé people who discovered that Loulé is a land of opportunities to express themselves in the most diverse artistic forms". Many of these people from Loulé, he stressed, will now be present in the Cineteatro's programming, either solo or in collaboration with other artists.
“We have had the intelligence to open ourselves to the outside world, but also to value what we have here”, not even forgetting to “work with schools”.
Recalling other cultural projects in which the Municipality is investing – such as the Humanism Biennial, the “Cultural Quarter”, in the city's historic centre, the musealization of Islamic baths and the “great museum”, with “languages of contemporary communication” - , Vítor Aleixo stressed: “I have no doubt that Loulé, in five or ten years, will be a city with a very different cultural landscape”.
But, after all, what will the Louletano Cineteatro programming? Paulo Pires, the programmer of this space, began by explaining that «we are not just a space for presentation, but also for creation, involving ourselves with the artists». And that shows in the proposals.
On February 1st, the day that celebrates the elevation of Loulé to the city, «a special concert» takes to the stage: the transposition of the film «Variações» to a live show, with the actor who gave body and voice, in screen, António Variações, performing live the songs he sings in the film, accompanied by the band that also performed there. “It's not a common thing, this kind of concerts”.
In April, around the time when Chico Buarque de Holanda will be in Portugal to receive the Pessoa Award, there will be a concert in tribute to the great Brazilian artist. On the 25th of April, Jorge Palma will take the stage, with the Loulé Jazz Trio, in another show of the cycle «Longe é aqui», which brings together national values and local artists.
In May, an absolute debut proposal arrives, with «a duo that never worked together»: the actress Beatriz Batarda and the dancer Romeu Runa. «I don't know if it's dance, theater, performance, it's so hybrid», commented Paulo Pires. The two performances, called «Perfil Perdido» and staged by Marco Martins, will take place «after the artists' residency in Loulé».
In June, the qualifiers for the Young Musicians Award, organized by RTP/Antena2, leave Lisbon for the first time and come to Loulé, to Solar da Música Nova and the Cineteatro.
In the same month, Cristina Branco is presented, who last year was in residence in this Algarve municipality. From this residence, that Sul Informação followed, the album «Eva» will result, whose first video, to be released on 20 January, as Paulo Pires recalled, was “recorded in the rock salt mine of Loulé”.
In a few months, it will then be the artist's turn to debut her new album in Loulé. The Cineteatro Louletano's programming, explained its main responsible, also involves “being able to attract these reference names”.
Because what is intended is to make programming and stimulate creation, the Cineteatro also placed «three large orders». The first is that of Jorge Palma, with the Trio de Jazz, mentioned above.
The second was directed to Carlos Bica's trio, with Daniel Erdmann and DJ Illvibe, plus João Paulo Esteves da Silva on piano, to mark 250 years of Ludwig von Beethoven. And what will be presented, on the 29th and 30th of May, will be "a somewhat risky reinterpretation of Beethoven".
The third order will bring to Loulé the renowned Portuguese singer and actress Sofia Escobar, who has been successful on stages in London and across Europe.
Also in May, in the cycle «Far is here», Sofia Escobar will work with a together of professors from the Conservatório de Música de Loulé, to present, on the 20th, the eve of the municipal holiday, a “very special” concert that revisits the universe of musicals and cinema soundtracks.
Among this year's novelties, Paulo Pires also highlighted the two days of the Inclusive Dance Forum (April 27th and 28th), which will bring to Loulé the Madeira project «Dançando com a Diferença».
There will be a workshop, a lecture and a masterclass, but what is really intended is to promote «a regular collaboration with this project, to bring its know-how». “We are going to put people who are in institutions – namely Unir, Asmal and Existir – to work with this body of dancers”, revealed Paulo Pires.
Within the scope of the new cycle "Implikação", which "covers the years 2020 and 2021", there will be the presentation of "plays that address issues that we think are key today", but also debates. In this first semester, the cycle begins in February with the theme «Europe», highlighting the premiere, in the Algarve, of the play «Canto da Europa», by Jacinto Lucas Pires, which in these days is premiered at the Teatro Nacional D. Maria II, in Lisbon.
There will also be a debate that brings together that playwright, the anthropologist Eglantina Monteiro and the university professor João Guerreiro, as well as a show “Isto only in this country”, with the humorist Hugo van der Ding.
The «Implikação» cycle will return twice in this first semester, in April with the theme «Fake News» and in June talking about «Tourism and Gentrification». The remaining themes, in the following months, will be Bureaucracy, New Technologies, Refugees and Gender Equality.
And because «programming is looking around», the Cineteatro Louletano will be «very attentive to local talents», starting immediately with the concert to launch João Frade's new album (on January 30th), but also to «art for the childhood".
In this last aspect, the objective, explained Paulo Pires, will be “to qualify from an early age those who work with childhood. There is very little offer in the south of the country». Thus, in January (27th to 29th) and again in July (20th to 26th), there will be "transitive" and "immersive" training in art for children, with the Companhia de Música Teatral, in Lisbon.
The 90th anniversary of Cineteatro Louletano has as its motto «Arest». And it was by reading part of the lyrics of the song by José Mário Branco, that Dália Paulo set the tone and the kick-off for a year of celebration:
«There's always something that's about to happen
anything i should notice
Because I dont know
Because I dont know
why i don't know yet
Inside a restlessness, restlessness
It's just restlessness, restlessness
Because I dont know
But I know
I don't know yet
There's always something I have to do
7Anything I should solve
Because I dont know
But I know
That this thing is beautiful»
Photos: Elisabete Rodrigues | Sul Informação
Click here to download the entire schedule for the 1st semester of 2020
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