Knowing that Gil Mendo played a key role in dance in Portugal, that he helped build a sector after April 25, that he inspired generations of dancers and choreographers as a teacher, that he left a legacy thanks to his way of thinking and programming, that he held various positions, some public, that helped define cultural policies, it will be easy to discover in the books yet to be written on the history of Portuguese dance.
What will be more difficult to find is what does not fit in the summary of the biographical lines, but is present in the discourse of those who were in contact with him throughout his life. “Gil had a supernatural capacity for consensus and a great affection for those around him. In addition to this very versatile person in this field [a dança]He was a person who was absolutely loved by the entire community, by his students, colleagues and all the artists with whom he came across and worked”, says Pedro Pinto, a researcher and artist, currently doing “archive work on the historiography of independent dance in Portugal”. .
Gil Mendo, teacher and programmer in the field of dance, this “marvelous human being who translated his ability to work with others”, passed away in March of last year. One year later, Culturgest, in Lisbon, is the scene of a tribute that starts this Thursday and continues until Saturday, with conferences and presentations. “He left the contemporary dance and performing arts community in a broader sense, just after Gil’s death,” continues Pedro Pinto, who describes “a snowball” of people who wanted to join the tribute to this essential figure in the history of Portuguese contemporary dance. . From March 23 to 25, there are more than 60 performances and four conversations and an open file to discover a teacher. “It shows Gil’s ability to touch people of different ages and with different histories and paths,” he muses.
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Source: Observadora
