Bio

THIS IS A SOLO
 

BIO

I am Ana Monteiro a Berlin based performer, choreographer and researcher within the Performing Arts field born in Portugal.

I studied theather, dance and choreography and I have  been interested in self-organized initiatives and collaborative modes of production.

The following text was written within the frame of MA SODA`s publication regarding the final performance presentation of the course.

The way we decided to frame the text (re)presentation of our performances was through the words of another, by the means of a  recommendation letter written by a fellow colleague. 

We picked up a small piece of paper from a hat.  

 

Sheena McGrandles

Reinickendorferstr. 32

Berlin 13347

sheenamcgrandles@yahoo.co.uk

07.11.2011

RE: Letter of Recommendation for FORCED ENTERTAINMENT PERFORMER

To Whom It May Concern:

It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that I write this letter of recommendation for Ana Monteiro. I have known Ana M as a fellow artist and a peer since 2010. We have worked together in a range of capacities during the last year and I have no hesitation in recommending her to you as a highly skilled performer and collaborator.

I have experienced Ana to be an intelligent, capable, self disciplined, personable and humorous woman. She is a dedicated collaborator with an interest in pushing the ways and means of working with other artists. Her most recent work SHOWCASE demonstrates just this through her multifaceted and multimedia approach to collaboration and authorship. In this piece she is working with a range of people from the local Turkish belly dancing school, an experimental video artist to a performer who creates a solo for her via emails. Personally I think this raises very interesting questions around curatorship, translation and, collaboration, which I am sure, would be extremely beneficial for the company and its particular approach to performance making.

Ana’s creative writing abilities are next to nothing, her use of words to grasp a situation, a thought are just immense. I have had the privilege of experiencing some of her devised texts and scripts. They are intricate pieces of work that interweave the critical and poetical documenting and capturing situations and discussions around performance and collaboration. It is her talent to take this material and flip the context around from a heated exchange about working to a fun filled dramatic, yet ironic soap opera. She has a rich imagination and a way with words that allow her to be generous, yet precise in what she wants to convey. There is no doubt what so ever that Ana’s writing capabilities would gather a further articulation and honing through the exchanges and working approaches that she would encounter during her time with Forced Entertainment.

Her wider detailed knowledge on literature such as critical theory, performance theory, philosophy and post-structuralism would be invaluable to you. Ana has a strong grasp on these discourses, which allows her to approach performance making in a critical, reflective and informed way. But, its is in Ana’s performance skills that really show her competence. Her use of hyper theatrically and ‘concern’ for the audience, which pairs very well to the work of Forced Entertainment. Through this she challenges and at the same time pushes and teases the boundaries of what we understand as theater and ones role as performer and beholder. She is an expert in making the audience wonder what’s going to happened next. Allowing the direction of the work to fall into the beholders hand’s, or at least this is what we are lead to believe.

It is clear that Ana M has found an imaginative and risk taking attitude to performance during her time on the MA SODA and I can only insist further that she would be a credit to the company. I am sure that she would bring a wealth of diverse knowledge’s and skills, through her writing, quick and articulate mind paired with her flexible and au fait performance artistry.

If you require any further discussion or have questions in regards to Ana’s suitability and talent please do not hesitate in contacting me.

Yours,

Sheena McGrandles