Since its inception nine years ago, DDD – Festival Dias da Dança has become a gathering point for dance makers and enthusiasts, o !ering a fleeting yet vibrant forum for collective imagination across Porto, Gaia, and Matosinhos. With each new edition, we encounter dance in its many forms and expressions. Though no fixed themes are imposed, they inevitably emerge–shaped by the artistic visions that respond to the here and now.

This year, as we reflect deeply on the passage of time and the legacies we inherit, a recurring theme has naturally surfaced: revisitation–of practice, of heritage, of self. Artists within this program have crafted works that engage with the histories of flamenco, salsa, tanztheater, and drag. More than memorializing these forms, they reframe and reclaim them–playing with movement and context in a spirit of collaboration.

Beyond the structures of dance, this year’s program continues to embrace a broader reckoning with personal and cultural histories–stories of migration, labor, gender, and purpose. These are works that toy with convention and propose alternative narratives. The performance you experience tonight may di !er from the one felt by the person seated next to you. It is in this abstraction–this absence of a single, definitive interpretation–where dance holds its most transformative power.

Behind the work of these visionary artists, we believe this year’s program speaks to the radical possibilities that abound in the world, and the ability for dance to reach the public across language, accent, and dialect. Whatever the motivation or temperament, we will dance.

We will dance to remember.
We will dance to invoke.
We will dance to fight.
We will dance to mourn.
We will dance to celebrate.
We will dance because we can.

So, let’s dance!