About Us
A dance festival and international artistic encounter that combines the best of the contemporary dance scene with the best of the Portuguese summer
FOCUS
Each year the festival organizes 3 weeks of intense contemporary dance training
while creating a platform for meeting new artists and people and hopefully enjoying the Portuguese summer!
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SCHEDULE
Each week we create a team of 3 different artists/teachers that explore their research with all the participants.
There are 3 groups per week that have a different line-up of classes.
EXTRAS
Annually we partner up with local organizations and businesses to provide you with some authentic Portuguese experience.
We organize wine-tasting evenings, surf classes, a night of local Portuguese dances, etc.
PRICES
Our core belief is that contemporary dance training shouldn't be too expensive and should be available to everyone.
In order to make our festival affordable we created the option of staying with us for free, hence allowing anyone to improve their skills.
TEACHERS
One of our main goals is to gather each week some of the best pedagogs, dancers, and artists from different fields of contemporary dance and theatre. Our gest teachers come from all over the world.
Our Story
The Summer Intensive festival had its very beginnings in the small Portuguese village of Boavista, de A-dos-Cunhados. It was founded in 2013 by 3 the directors Goncalo Lobato, Ricardo Ambrozio, and Martina Ambrozio. With the idea of establishing a bridge between Portugal and Belgium, which quickly grew to Europe and beyond, turning the festival into an international encounter and dance invasion of the Portuguese countryside.
Once the artistic residency in Boavista could no longer accommodate the growing number of movers and installations it invaded the central park of the close-by A dos Cunhados agglomeration. It’s there that our newest member Beno Novak joined the team. Summer Intensive took over the central park, with the participants camping there, cooking in kitchen tents or savoring local dishes in the local restaurant and long-term partner A CERCA and 4 big studios, of which 3 big tents and 1 in the local fire brigade next door. Locals and dancers from all over mingled at the local bar for wine tastings or an evening chat, folklore dance sessions, or Summer stage presentations.
Since 2021 for its 8th edition the festival center relocated to the Performact studios in Torres Vedras, providing more and bigger studios and allowing easier access and connection from Lisbon and everyday necessities such as cafes, pharmacies, hospitals, etc.
In 2023 we are celebrating our 10th edition of the festival Summer Intensive Portugal and for this occasion, we are trying to bring the festival closer to the ocean and the beaches than ever.
For more info stay tuned to our social media or our newsletter...