Margarida Montenÿ presents an open rehearsal of Clamor, her new contemporary circus project, developed during an artistic residency at Fábrica das Ideias. At once critical and evocative, Clamor brings together the traditional art of bell-ringing (manual bell pealing) with contemporary practices such as percussion, movement, and aerial acrobatics. The creation draws upon the intense physicality of traditional techniques like bamboar and volteio, in which the bell ringer’s body interacts directly with the weight and rhythm of the bell, and interweaves these techniques with contemporary performance devices. The work proposes an immersive experience that both questions and celebrates the relationship between past and present, tradition and experimentation. By exploring the sensory, sonic and symbolic dimensions of touch and sound, Clamor builds a dramaturgical landscape open to listening, memory and reinvention.
One of the project’s conceptual cores is the questioning of femininity within religious spaces and imaginaries - examining the gestures historically permitted, the desires forbidden, and the representations imposed on the bodies that inhabit these contexts. In doing so, Clamor introduces a female body into a space traditionally regulated by normative structures of gender and faith, paving the way for new forms of presence and meaning. Designed to be presented in public space, non-conventional venues, churches and deconsecrated spaces, Clamor proposes a place of aesthetic tension, symbolic resonance and shared listening.
This presentation is part of the 2025 Outdoor Arts Portugal Creation Grant programme, which supports emerging artists in the development of new works for public space and non-conventional contexts. Through financial support, artistic mentorship, and dissemination opportunities, the programme promotes innovative artistic languages and experimentation in dialogue with territories and society. The Outdoor Arts Portugal programme is promoted by Bússola, with the support of the Portuguese Republic – Culture, Youth and Sport, through the Directorate-General for the Arts. The creation grants are developed in partnership with 23 Milhas/Municipality of Ílhavo and Casa Varela/Municipality of Pombal.