William Cardoso; Credit: Vanda Dos Santos

For the fifth consecutive year, Luxembourg's national culture fund FOCUNA, in partnership with the Uferstudios für Zeitgenössischen Tanz Berlin and in collaboration with the cultural service of the Embassy of Luxembourg in Berlin, is offering choreographers a six-week research residency.

William Cardoso's “Dear Mum” project won over this year's preselection committee, composed of Ainhoa Achutegui (neimënster), Mathis Junet (TROIS C-L), Tania Soubry (2020 resident) and Joëlle Trauffler, as well as the artistic management of Uferstudios Berlin.

As a qualified dancer, William Cardoso has contributed to various performances and productions in Luxembourg and abroad since 2015. In 2020, he worked with JC movement production (Jill Crovisier), Sarah Baltzinger and the Full Time Company (Fabian Thomé ). Having participated in numerous workshops under the direction of renowned choreographers such as Bruno Guilloré and Anne-Marie Porras, his own creations "VERDURA" (2018) and "Raum" (2020) brought him his first successes as a choreographer.

As part of his choreographic residency in Berlin, William Cardoso will be working on a solo performance. The choreographer explained: "'Dear Mum' is a journey into oneself, into the deepest part of oneself, where there is little colour, where it is sometimes too dark, where we only hear the echo of our thoughts. A well of memories, filled with images, sound, emotions... 'Dear Mum' is a letter to my mother... to yours, to them, to you, to all of us. I wish I could have been different - like the others. A feeling of freedom buried under humiliation, sexual exposure, and escape. 'Dear Mum' depicts the experience during a coming out. A confrontation with oneself before confronting others. An intimate space that we are forced to expose in the heart of the light, in the eyes of everyone. This solo shows a man, his human rights and his freedom - a real struggle to face the rejection of the other".

This residency will allow the laureate to advance in his personal research and to immerse himself in the Berlin artistic environment, as well as promoting networking with the local artistic scene and contributing in the long term to the development of his professional career.

The residency at Uferstudios will take place from 1 July to 15 August 2021.