Biography

Margarida Montenÿ is a portuguese artist whose practice unfolds at the intersection of movement, perception and identity. Rooted in aerial performance, her work explores intimacy, weight, and resonance, crafting performances that blur the boundaries between body, object, and environment, operating within a fluid space between the public and the private.

Guided by a sensorial and research-driven approach, Margarida creates immersive atmospheres that invite audiences into spaces of presence and connection. Among her works are "BLUE" (2023), a performance between affection and friction that challenges the concept of solo; and "Simulacro" (2022), in collaboration with Carminda Soares, a performance exploring intimacy between queer bodies.

Her recent work, "Clamor", re-imagines the cultural and sonic heritage of bells, merging traditional manual ringing with contemporary movement and percussion. By intertwining heritage with experimentation, she aims to create evocative, site-responsive performances that engage with memory, ritual, and invite the audience to reflect on the impact and power of the toll – sensory, sonic, and symbolic.

A recipient of the Young Artists Award of 2024 – Circus Arts from Coliseu Porto Ageas, Margarida has collaborated with leading creators and companies in contemporary circus and performance. Her artistic practice remains in constant dialogue with a transdisciplinary approach, exploring states of intimacy, strength, and vulnerability.

Artistic project

“In times of peace, bells are made; in times of war, cannons.”

Clamor is an interdisciplinary creation project that intertwines the traditional art of manual bell-ringing with contemporary practices rooted in percussion, movement, and vertical rope. By merging bell-ringing with circus techniques, the project constructs a performative, installation-like device, reimagining the historical and cultural significance of bells—not as exclusively sacred objects, but as elements with a broader cultural resonance and as witnesses to collective memory.

At its core, Clamor is an experience that both questions and celebrates the connection between tradition and experimentation, promoting a re-signification of bells and expanding their meaning beyond conventional sacred associations. The project's sonic and choreographic composition draws from rhythmic and metric patterns deeply embedded in the urban soundscape—structures laden with signs and signals of meaning. These patterns are deconstructed and transformed, generating an immersive and sensory experience that shifts from the concrete to the abstract.

Through the interplay of repetition, rhythm, and resonance, Clamor creates a space where movement, sound, and installation coexist. By blurring the lines between these disciplines, the project invites a renewed reflection on presence and memory, encouraging the audience to consider the impact and power of the toll—physical, sensory, sonic, and symbolic.

Format: performance

Size of audience: depending on the presentation context, the project can be adapted to more intimate settings (such as small chapels) or larger spaces, with no limitations on the number of spectators imposed by the performance itself, but rather by the chosen space for presentation

Specific location: the project is currently being conceived to be presented in relation to churches, chapels, and other similar spaces. It can be performed either within these spaces or directly in front of them, fostering a sense of association and proximity. However, it is also adaptable to other venues such as industrial spaces, factories, meadows, museums, etc., always requiring the ability to create an intimate context within the setting.

Timing / duration:40min to 60min. Presented at dusk, sunset, or during the night