The 11th edition of the international contemporary circus festival, Vaudeville Rendez-Vous, is just around the corner and yesterday, 11 June, the full programme that will occupy the urban centre of the cities of Barcelos, Braga, Guimarães and Vila Nova de Famalicão from 16 to 19 July was revealed.
Over the course of these four days, 11 national and international artists and companies, as well as four artistic workshops - one for each city, will perform nearly three dozen shows.
For the festival's artistic directors, Bruno Martins and Cláudia Berkeley, from the Didascália Theatre, this new edition focuses on the idea of a new cycle and a moment of renewal.
‘In this 11th edition of the Vaudeville Rendez-Vous festival, we wanted to build a programme that, to a certain extent, reflected on the idea of a cycle, in a festival that is now starting a new decade,’ reads the preface to the programme, signed in unison by the festival's directors.
"Last year we celebrated a round anniversary - 10 years of existence. Now, we're starting a new cycle - we hope, a new decade for the festival," said Bruno Martins at the presentation of this year's programme, which took place on Wednesday 11 June at Casa da Azenha (Barcelos).
"The idea of a cycle is a very transversal idea, it has many ramifications and declinations. We can talk about a great cycle in its most visual format, as well as an idea of finitude, beginning, renewal," added the festival's artistic director, in a session that was also marked by the intention to add the municipality of Viana do Castelo to the group of partner municipalities.
‘The festival was born in Vila Nova de Famalicão, but it has broken the boundaries of our municipality and grown progressively, expanding to Braga, Guimarães and Barcelos, and I believe it will also be able to reach Viana do Castelo,’ said Pedro Oliveira, Vila Nova de Famalicão City Council's Councillor for Culture.
‘I'm sure that this year's edition, like the previous ones, will be a great success (...) It's a project that adds artistic value to the Minho region and that enlivens our urban centres with bold and distinctive projects,’ added the mayor.
In this 11th edition, Vaudeville Rendez-Vous once again counts on the municipalities of the Urban Quadrilateral - Braga, Barcelos, Guimarães and Vila Nova de Famalicão - as its main partners and hosts of the planned shows.
Specifically in Vila Nova de Famalicão, this year's international contemporary circus festival kicks off with the national premiere of ‘Ripple’ by the Belgian TeaTime Company, on 17 July (Thursday), at 7pm, in the Youth Park. On the same day and place, there will also be the show ‘Homenaje’ by the Catalan company Sílvia Capell and En Deciembre, at 22h00.
This will be followed on 18 July by ‘Cream’, by INAC - Instituto Nacional de Artes do Circo, at 19h00 in the Parque da Juventude, and the evening will end with ‘El Dorado’, by the French company NDE Nicanor de Elia, at 10pm in the Parque da Devesa amphitheatre.
Also on the 18th, the workshop "TeaTime Company: The translation of the object through the human body", which will take place from 3pm to 5.30pm in the rehearsal room of the Casa das Artes in Vila Nova de Famalicão.
The programme in Famalicão ends with the performances ‘Rima’ (by Portuguese artists Alan & Alvin), at 11h00, “Nkama” (by French artist Dimas Tivane), at 19h00, and ‘Tancarville’ (by French group Le G. Bistaki), at 22h00 - the first in the Parque da Juventude and the others in the Praça and Alameda D. Maria II, in the city centre.
All the shows and workshops included in the Vaudeville Rendez-Vous 2025 programme are free until the venue is full.
Vaudeville Rendez-Vous, promoted by the Famalicense artistic structure Teatro da Didascália for over a decade, has become one of the most important contemporary circus and public space festivals in the country.
The municipalities of Braga, Barcelos, Guimarães and Vila Nova de Famalicão are its main partners and hosts.
The full programme for the 11th edition of the festival can be found on the Teatro da Didascália's official website, at www.teatrodadidascalia.com/ or on social media - @vaudevillerendezvous.
