e nunca as minhas mãos estão vazias [and never my hands are empty] is the latest creation by Cristian Duarte em companhia. The title refers to a line from the poem Apesar das ruínas e da morte [Despite the Ruins and Death], by Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, said by Maria Bethânia. The work confronts a reality marked by inequalities, suggesting the strength and diversity of the collective as a sensitive answer. In a movement that critic Renan Marcondes describes as ‘always together, never the same’, the cast of nine artists composes hierarchy-less gestures and sounds live, highlighting tensions between what is private and what is collective. In a Brazil of constant transformation, the work offers a glimpse into how to be together in difference and reaffirm life in the face of adversity. – Cristian Duarte