Dance Umbrella announces new show CARCAÇA by Marco da Silva Ferreira, shortlisted for Rose International Dance Prize

Dance Umbrella is thrilled to announce that Portuguese dance artist Marco da Silva Ferreira has been shortlisted for the inaugural Rose International Dance Prize for his work CARCAÇA.

Having previously presented his work at Dance Umbrella Festival 2023, as part of South African dance company Via Katlehong‘s double-bill Via Injabulo, the October dance festival will be making a special exception, presenting CARCAÇA in February 2025 with co-partners Sadler’s Wells and Big Pulse Dance Alliance.

Marco da Silva Ferreira’s work explores tools of cultural construction through the encounter of Portuguese folk dances and contemporary street/clubbing dances.

Also nominated are An Untitled Love by Kyle Abraham (USA), Encantado by Lia Rodrigues (Brazil) and Larsen C by Christos Papadopoulos (Greece).

The finalists will present their work on Sadler’s Wells’ stages from 29 January – 8 February 2025, so that the public and jury will be able to see the work live. The winners will be decided by a jury and the award will be designed by renowned artist and stage designer, Es Devlin CBE. The winners will be announced on Monday, 10 February 2025.

Credit José Caldeira

Marco da Silva Ferreira was a professional swimmer, prior to discovering street dance in his hometown at the age of 16. He received a degree in physiotherapy before fully dedicating himself to dance, first as a dancer and then as a choreographer from 2015. It was after winning the Portuguese version of So You Think You Can Dance that Marco moved from commercial to contemporary dance, working with acclaimed choreographers such as Hofesh Shechter.