Vera Mantero
Baldio
“The greatest division of material and mental labour is the separation of town and country. The opposition between town and country begins with the transition from tribal system to State, the transition from locality to nation. The opposition between town and country is the most crass expression of the subjection of the individual under the division of labour, subjection under a definite activity forced upon him [and which is only a tiny part of the production of an object as a whole, or of an activity as a whole. To put it differently, a tiny part of the construction of meaning, of the construction of meaning for life].
This division of labour turns one man into a restricted town-animal, the other into a restricted country-animal; and each day creates more and more the conflict between their interests. Labour is here the main issue, power over individuals, and as long as it exists, private property must also exist. The abolition of the town-country opposition is one of the first conditions of community. A condition which again depends on a great number of material premises and which cannot be fulfilled by the mere will, as anyone can see at first glance.” (The German Ideology by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels)
One must reunite town and country.
Come and see
at second glance.
Tim Etchells with
Vera Mantero
Bio
Vera Mantero studied classical dance with Anna Mascolo and worked in Ballet Gulbenkian in Lisbon between 1984 and 1989.
She started creating her own choreography in 1987 and since 1991 she has been showing her solo and group work all over Europe,
Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Singapore, South Korea and USA. From her choreographic work she points out her solos “Perhaps she could dance
first and think afterwards” (1991), “Olympia” (1993), “one mysterious Thing, said e.e.cummings*” (1996), “What can be said about Pierre” (2011) and
“The Caldeirão mountaineers, exercises in fictional anthropology” (2012) as also her group pieces “Under” (1993),
“For Boring and Profound Sadnesses” (1994), “Poetry and Savagery” (1998), “Until the moment when God is destroyed by the extreme exercise of beauty” (2006) and “We are going to miss everything we don’t need” (2009).
Vera Mantero participates regularly in international improvisation projects alongside improvisers and choreographers as Lisa Nelson, Mark Tompkins, Meg Stuart and Steve Paxton. Since the year 2000 Vera Mantero is dedicating herself also to vocal work by singing the repertoire by several authors and co-creating experimental music projects.
In 1999 the theatre Culturgest in Lisbon organized during one month a retrospective of her work created until then, which was entitled “Month of March, Month of Vera”. “Eating your heart out”, a work created in collaboration with the sculptor Rui Chafes, represented Portugal at the 26th Biennial of São Paulo 2004. She regularly teaches composition and creation in Portugal and abroad.
In 2002 Vera Mantero was awarded the Almada Prize (IPAE/Ministry of Culture) and in 2009 the prestigious Gulbenkian Art Prize for her career as a performer and choreographer. In 2013 she created the performance installations “Shadows being offered” and “More for Less than for More”, the latter one for the commemorations of the 20th Anniversary of the theatre Culturgest in Lisbon.
