ECO Project - Emerging in Creation and Orientation
The ECO Project – Emerging Creation and Orientation is moving into its second edition. This initiative, developed by Play False Associação Cultural, aims to support emerging choreographers in the development of their first works or in the consolidation of their artistic intentions. Its purpose is to foster research and innovation in dance, promoting the development of new artistic languages and methodologies.
Within the context of an artistic residency, the project provides rehearsal space as well as comprehensive support across different dimensions of artistic production.
Throughout 2026, two projects will be selected to receive support from this program. The selected projects will benefit from a one-week artistic residency in a creative space provided by Play False Associação Cultural, along with accommodation, meals, and travel expenses covered for up to three people resident in Portugal (mainland),, as well as a financial grant of €350.
During the residency, the selected choreographer will receive artistic mentoring from São Castro, artistic director of Play False, as well as guidance in complementary areas related to the circulation of a performance, namely Production and Communication. These sessions will be led by specialized professionals Andreia Carneiro and Marisa Miranda.
Andreia Carneiro is a cultural producer with a degree in Production and a PhD candidate in Artistic Studies, Arts and Mediation at FCSH-UNL. With extensive experience in production management, she has worked with companies such as ACCCA – Companhia Clara Andermatt, Bomba Suicida, Teatro Praga, Materiais Diversos, and P.OR.K, and is the founder of Produtores Emergentes.
Marisa Miranda has been working in cultural communication for over 15 years. She currently collaborates with Lavrar o Mar – Cooperativa Cultural and works as a consultant for artistic projects. She holds a degree in Communication Sciences and was responsible for the communication strategy of Évora_27 – European Capital of Culture. She has also led communication for Teatro Viriato and Companhia Paulo Ribeiro, and previously worked as a journalist for Público.
Applications are open until May 23 for the selection of projects for this second edition.
Applications must be submitted by completing this
ARTISTS / SUPPORTED PROJECTS 2025 | 1 edition
INÊS BARROS
Originally from Alcobaça, she began her studies at the Alcobaça Dance Academy (2011–2019). In 2019/20, she joined ProjectoQuorum, performing works by Lua Carreira and Miguel Ramalho. In 2020, she became part of the young company In TranzYt, performing pieces by Ana Casquilho, Fábio Lopez, Cristina Pereira and Vasco Macide, Tiago Manquinho, Ayano Tatekawa, and Miguel Esteves. With Compagnie Illicite Bayonne, she was part of the artistic cast of the ballet La Belle au Bois Dormant, and in 2023 she joined the Companhia de Dança de Almada.
SUPPORTED PROJECT: CONCIERGE
The concept of CONCIERGE originates from the album Hotel Heaven by Yellow Days. Its portrayal of a mythical hotel served as the starting point for this creation. The solo explores the unique atmosphere of this imagined “Hotel Heaven”: a luxurious space imbued with an underlying sense of strangeness, where appearances often conceal deeper realities.
BEATRIZ VALENTIM
Born in Póvoa de Varzim in 1995, she is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher. She began her dance studies through the Royal Academy of Dance and completed the Professional Dancer Training Course at the National Conservatory Dance School in 2013. She furthered her training through the Elit Training Program of the Budapest Dance Theatre Company and the F.O.R. Dance Theatre of the Olga Roriz Company. She holds a degree in Sociology from ISCTE-IUL and completed the Postgraduate Program in Contemporary Dance at ESMAE, finishing as a scholarship recipient of Camping 2020 at the Centre National de la Danse, Paris. She has worked with Olga Roriz, Renato Zanella, Jérôme Bel, Raimund Hoghe, Francisco Camacho, Né Barros, Jonas & Lander, among others.
SUPPORTED PROJECT: ASSIMÉTRICO
The project explores the porous boundaries between music and dance, composition and performance, sound and movement. By focusing on the importance of the collective, Assimétrico challenges conventional notions of pairing and binary structures, instead proposing a space where bodies and instruments merge in unexpected ways.