Slide Luís Damas
Slide Luís Damas
Slide Luís Damas
Slide Luís Damas
Slide Luís Damas
Slide Luís Damas
Slide Luís Damas

BIOGRAPHY

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Born in 1961, in Lisbon, Portugal

1st Dancer at Ballet Gulbenkian, where he danced from 1982 to 2001.

Scholarship holder of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to attend the Rosella Hightower International Dance Center, in Cannes, France, in September 1984.

Awarded with a place as a dancer on the international dance course for choreographers and professional composers in 1986 in Guildford, England.

1st Choreography Award in the competition "New Values of Culture ‘88", with the ballet "Chant".  

Selected for the best moments of the programme “Our Century” on Portuguese Radio Television-RTP, with the choreography “Missing”, in 1989.

Principal Dancer invited to dance with Mari Ushioda at the presentation of the Japanese Tandavaha Company in New York with choreography by Yoshie Kaku, in 1990

Scholarship holder, several times, at the Rosella Hightower International Dance Center, namely from September to December 1990, with Rosella Hightower as mentor and teacher. José Ferran and Monica Saez were also his teachers, among others.

Frankfurt Ballet, William Forsythe's permission to attend Company classes from December 1990 to January 1991.

Residency in New York from February to June 1991, with Kazuko Hirabayashi as mentor of his studies. He studied with Maggie Black and Benjamin Harkavy, attended the School of American Ballet, working with the teachers: A. Kramaresky, Richard Raap and Stanley Williams in Classical Ballet. He attended Cunningham Studio and as a fellow at the Alvin Ailey School, he worked in Modern Dance with Kazuko Hirabayashi, among others, who also created the solo "Transition" for Luís Damas.

1st Film and Video Prize in the competition “Culture and Development‘90, with the videodance “Missing”.

5 More awards, at national and international level, also with the video dance “Missing”.

Gold Medal
      and      - in “The 2nd Japan International Ballet and Modern Dance
                Competition ", in 1996, with choreographies by Vasco Wellenkamp
1st Interpretation Award

Best Dancer of the Year (nomination), elected by the media, for the “Bordalo da Imprensa ‘96” awards.

Awarded at the IV International Video Festival of Oeiras '98, with the videodance “Delírium”.

Invited Teacher at Lisbon Superior School of Dance(choreographic seminars) -1994, 1996, 1998-Portugal.

Invited Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Human Motricity at the Technical University of Lisbon, from 1998 to 2001.

Finalist as an interpreter and choreographer at the 3rd Japan International Ballet and Modern Dance Competition, in 1999, for which he specifically choreographed "Earth Spirit" and "Invocation", after being selected with the ballet "La Mamma Morta".

Artistic Director of the FMH-UTL Dance Company from 1999 to 2001.

Awards at the “Prague Festival - Dance Prize 2000”, “Honorable Jury Prize” and “Honorable Mention”, won by the FMH-UTL Dance Company, under his direction.

Founding member of the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation in Portugal (invitation) 2000.

Artistic Council of the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation in Portugal (invitation) 2001

Artistic and Technical Direction of the show Dança do Sopro, together with Master George Stobbaerts, at the Belém cultural center, in 2001.

Principal Dancer Invited at Companhia Portuguesa de Bailado Contemporâneo, for all the shows of the years 2002 and 2003, having represented C.P.B.C. in several International Galas in addition to the regular shows; obtaining excellent national and international reviews.

Invited to become a member of the International Dance Council CID - UNESCO in 2004, admission that distinguishes “leading dance professionals” from all over the world. 

First representation of Portugal (invited), in the presentation of the III Edition of "Frammenti di Danza. Rassegna europea di vídeo danza 2004 "- National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome - Italy, by Camões Institute, with all its choreographies and videosdance work.

Invited to join the Teaching Council of Lisboa Ginásio Clube from 2005 to 2011 where he developed wide range of activities, namely Ballet, Contemporary, Dance Representation, Ballet and Choreography for the Competition Classes of Artistic Gymnastics for Women, Rhythmic and Acrobatic, Master Classes, Intensive Courses, and direction of shows among others.

Artistic Director, Teacher and Choreographer of Luís Damas Dance Company, which he created in mid-2010, where he has regularly choreographed, taught and developed activities as a video artist and researcher, in Portugal and abroad.

Artistic Director, Teacher and Choreographer in the shows "Diagonals of Art I", "Diagonals of Art II" and "Movements", where he presented ballets from his Company and where he also worked with national, international and Olympic champion teachers and athletes, integrating in these shows especially the competition and representation classes, as well as some other invited classes, in a partnership between his company and the LGC.

Honored by the Almada Dance Company in 2010, "(...) in a demonstration of recognition and appreciation for its importance in the development of the company."

Selected for the Berlin Flash Film Festival in November 2019 with the videodance “Nude Landscapes”.

 

Emphasized is also his choreography work in dance companies, major projects and festivals, national and international, among others, such as:

Dutch National Ballet 1993 - The Netherlands

UPE Dança - Dance Company of Lisbon Superior School of Dance - 1994, 1996, 1998-Portugal

Contemporary Dance Company - CEDECE 1995, 2006-Portugal

Ballet Gulbenkian 1996-Portugal

Almada Dance Company 1996-Portugal

Solo Tanz Theater Festival 1998-Germany

3rd Japan International Ballet and Modern Dance Competition 1999-Japan

International Platform for Choreographers of the 8th Almada Dance Fortnight 2000-Portugal

Dance Company of the Faculty of Human Motricity-UTL 2001-Portugal

Cannes Jeune Ballet 2006-France

Ballet D'Europe (choreographic workshops) France 2007

Kasakhstan International Festival of Modern Dance 2007

Dance New York International Project in Paris 2008

Contemporary Dance Company of Angola 2009

Luís Damas Dance Company 2010 to 2015

"(…) the great Portuguese choreographer (…)"
consideration obtained in French review in 2006 with the choreography “Célébration” for Cannes Jeune Ballet, at Nice Matin newspaper, in addition to other excellent reviews from different sources, concerning his choreographic work, throughout his career.

 

He also highlights is participation as a member of the Jury in the following events, among others:

1st National Dance-Music Championship to qualify a Portuguese representative for the 10th World Dance Championship - Amadora, Portugal in 1988

Shabelewski Dance Competition - Curitiba, Brazil in 2002

1st National Dance Competition - Viana do Castelo, Portugal in 2004

II International Dance Competition of the Algarve - Faro, Portugal in 2005

I and II International Dance Competitions of Oeiras, Portugal in 2011 and 2012

Setúbal's Dance Academy, Portugal in 2014

 

His choreographic and videographic work has been shown in many countries in Europe and in other parts of the world. Until 2021 he has presented Choreographic Workshops / Ateliers, Master Classes, regular classes, open classes, classes, videodance work, choreography and lectures in Belgium, Scotland, Hungary, Holland, Portugal, Sweden, Japan, Italy, Brazil, France, Greece , Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey, Spain, Angola, San Marino, Germany, Nigeria, Serbia, Bhutan, The United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Slovakia and Czech Republic, Switzerland , The U.S.A., Denmark, Argentina, Canada, Iran, Macao-China, Sri-Lanka and Estonia in national and international institutions, festivals, companies, congresses and conventions such as:

13th International Festival du Film Super 8 et Video 91- Belgium

New Visions 92 – Scotland

Media Wave 92 – International Festival of Visual Arts – Hungary

Dutch National Ballet 1993 - The Netherlands

Faculty of Human Motricity, Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal, 1995 and 1998-2001

Dance Association of Baixo Alentejo, Beja, Portugal, 1995, 1997

9th Grand Prix de Video Danse 97 - France-Sweden

3rd Japan International Ballet and Modern Dance Competition 1999 - Nagoya, Japan

Children's Workshop in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal, 1999, 2000

Festival Internazionale di Video Danza 2000 - Il Coreografo Eletronico -Italy

2nd Fest-Dança de Curitiba, Brazil, 2002

Dance Center of Porto, Portugal, 2002

3 èmes Rencontres Autour de la Danse, Rousset, France, 2003

Lisboa Ginásio Clube, Lisbon, Portugal, 2005-2011

Ballet D´Europe, Allauch, France, 2007

21st World Congress on Dance Research 2007 in Athens, Greece, 2007

Anna Mascolo Classical Dance School in Lisbon, Portugal, 2007-2008

Kasakhstan International Festival of Modern Dance, Almaty, Kasakhstan, 2007

Almaty Choreographic College named after A.V.Seleznev, Almaty, Kasakhstan, 2007

Moscow International Dance Convention, Russia, 2008

International Educational Project workshop of Leading Teachers and Choreographers from the USA, Portugal, France and Russia, in Rostov, Russia, 2008

2nd International Dance Congress 2008 in Istanbul, Turkey, 2008

23rd World Congress of Investigation de la Danza 2009 in Malaga, Spain, 2009

Contemporary Dance Company of Angola, Luanda, Angola, 2009

National School of Dance of Angola, Luanda, Angola, 2009

Pepetela Auditorium, Luanda, Angola, 2009

Escola Dança & Cia., Viana do Castelo, Portugal, 2010 and 2011

Ginasiano Dance School, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, May and December 2011

32nd Mondiale di Ricerca sulla Danza 2012 Congress in San Marino, 2012

Luís Damas Dance Company 2010 to 2015

Berlin Flash Film Festival, Berlin, Germany, November 2019

Berlin Flash Film Festival, Berlin, Germany, December 2019

Capital Filmakers Festival Lisbon, Portugal, March 2020

Realtime International Film Festival, Lagos, Nigeria, April 2020

Mister Vorky Film Festival, Ruma, Serbia, June 2020

Moovy Tanzfilmfestival, Cologne, Germany in June 2020

 

Druk International Film Festival - Prize Winner - OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD / Nominated for the prestigious GOLDEN DRAGON AWARDS - What I want to say, Burn! Paro, Bhutan, June 2020

 

Strangelove Time-based Film Festival, Folkstone, England, United Kingdom, July 2020

!Film Fest, Pune, India, August 2020

60 Second Intl. Film Festival, Islamabad, Pakistan, August 2020

Kosice International Monthly Film Festival, Kosice, Slovakia, August 2020

Rome Independent Prisma Awards, Rome, Italy, September 2020

DMOFF - Direct Monthly Online Film Festival, September 2020

The Lift-Off Sessions, Iver, United Kingdom, September 2020

The Continental Film Festival, New York / Los Angeles, U.S.A., September 2020

Athens International Digital Film Festival, Athens, Greece, September 2020

Other Movie Lugano Film Festival, Lugano, Switzerland, October 2020

FilmArte Festival, Madrid, Spain / Berlin, Germany, October 2020

Sweden Film Awards, Stockholm, Sweden, October 2020

Cinedanza Festival, Modena, Italy, October 2020

Luminous Frames, Kjellerup, Denmark, October 2020

Best Director Award, London, United Kingdom, October 2020

DMOFF- Direct Monthly Online Film Festival, October 2020

Varese International Film Festival, Varese, Italy, November 2020

Kosice International Monthly Film Festival, Kosice, Slovakia, November 2020

Rome Independent Prisma Awards, Rome, Italy, November 2020

Cuerpo Mediado Festival de Videodanza, Rosario, Argentina, November 2020

Red Wood Film Festival, December 2020

Best Director Award, London, United Kingdom, December 2020

Goa Short Film Festival, Goa, India, December 2020

Alternative Film Festival, Toronto, Canada, December 2020

International Moving Film Festival, Abadan&Khoramshahr, Iran, December 2020

Rollout Dance Film Festival, Macao, China, December 2020

Imaginary Mind Film Contest, January 2021

Madrid Film Awards, Spain, February 2021

Luleå International Film Festival, Luleå, Sweden, March 2021

Prague International Monthly Film festival, Prague, Czech Republic, April 2021

Lisbon Film Rendezvouz, Lisbon, Portugal, June 2021

Azores Fringe Festival, Pico Island, Portugal, June 2021

Film Fest by Rougue Dancer, Raleigh, U.S.A. August 2021 

CortiFestival Cine Escolar, Alicante, Spain 2021

Highlights

Ballet Dancer

Choreographer

Director - Video Artist

Professor

Director

Others

Reviews