Daniel Cardoso graduated from the National Conservatory of Lisbon, where he received multidisciplinary dance training. Daniel won full scholarships with the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance (where he received the Coca-Cola Award for Artistic Excellence) and the Joffrey Ballet School in New York.


After returning to Portugal in the summer of 2005, Daniel founded the award-winning repertory company Quorum Ballet, his experience as a choreographer includes over 40 works for Quorum Ballet.


Daniel told The Portugal News “I had been working outside of Portugal as a dancer for 10 years and I decided to move back as I was tired of working abroad without my family. Since I was a kid, one of my dreams was to work for Ballet Gulbenkian but it closed exactly the year I came back to Portugal.”


Further sharing “The idea here is to be a reputable company and not be completely dependent on myself, I came up with Quorum Ballet because my philosophy of working is to work as a group and as a team which is what the word ‘Quorum’ means.”


Dance in Portugal


Daniel told The Portugal News that “There are two main problems in Portugal. Firstly, in terms of culture, we have to admit that Portugal is behind but not in quality but in interest. Dance is not taken seriously enough and it is still looked at like it is not a profession, which it is, especially when done at a high level.”


Adding that “We have very good artists, dancers and choreographers in Portugal. The problem is what is behind it, contemporary dance or classical ballet, is not a commercial activity.”


“We have had very good support from the city of Amadora, which is the city we have been based for a very long time. The funding we get is for different activities, we have a dance company, a school and a junior company so the funding we get is for all of that. The funding is very little bearing in mind the budget we need to run a full-time company.”


Credits: Supplied Image; Author: Quorum Ballet ;

“Funding from the government is a problem because we do not have enough references, if you look back in time the amount of time that this art form has existed in Portugal in a professional way is much shorter in comparison to other countries. Lack of funding is very frustrating that I created this company which will continue running no matter what but of course we could do much more with the funding of course.”


“This is sad to me because the idea is to contribute humbly but to try and contribute to the dance community in Portugal, to create jobs and to make references and history and give opportunities to dancers and choreographers, to work in a high level and to an international standard. To see all that work, we will be 20 years in 2 years' time and the work we have been doing nationally and internationally has not yet been recognised. “


Upcoming Productions


Daniel shared that “We have some international tours planned and we are also going to perform in some cities in Portugal. We are touring a piece called “Hashtag Free” and we will continue to tour Romeo & Juliet.” Speaking of Romeo & Juliet, Quorum Ballet’s next fantastic show is in Porto on the 29th of March, followed by a show in Leiria on the 22nd of April and in Vila Real on the 29th of April.


Additionally, on the 14th and 15th of April they will be premiering “Dragão” in Amadora which is a piece inspired by “the dream, the improbably and a utopian future.” With Daniel adding “this is a piece for people who do not give up on their dreams and who dare to dance with dragons.”


Credits: Supplied Image; Author: Quorum Ballet ;

Sponsorships


Daniel told The Portugal News that Quorum Ballet is looking for sponsors. “We really want is to find a company that wants Quorum Ballet to be their image through what we do and in my opinion that is the way to represent a brand. We need to find a partner that believes in us and can help us to be sustainable and we can also help them to grow and have their brand reach another level of quality also.”


It is important to note that In October 2007, in partnership with non-profit association AQK - Quorum Cultural Association and the Municipality of Amadora, they opened Quorum Academy with classes open to children, young people and adults. For more information, please visit https://quorumballet.com/ , alternatively you can keep up to date with all things Quorum Ballet by following them on Social Media - https://www.facebook.com/QUORUMBALLET or @quorum_ballet on Instagram.

Author

Following undertaking her university degree in English with American Literature in the UK, Cristina da Costa Brookes moved back to Portugal to pursue a career in Journalism, where she has worked at The Portugal News for 3 years. Cristina’s passion lies with Arts & Culture as well as sharing all important community-related news.

Cristina da Costa Brookes