Clara Andermatt (born 1963) is a Portuguese contemporary dancer and choreographer.

Training

Clara Andermatt was born in 1963 in the Portuguese capital of

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

. Her mother, Luna Andermatt (1926—2013), was a dancer, dancing teacher and choreographer, and one of the founders of the

National Ballet of Portugal Companhia Nacional de Bailado (CNB), the National Ballet Company of Portugal, was established in Lisbon in 1977 and the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos was its home for the first two decades of its existence. CNB is the only state company in Portuga ...

. Clara, who had a sister and a brother, started to join her mother's dance classes at the age of three. In 1980 she went to London to study at the British dance and theatre school, the

London Studio Centre The London Studio Centre, in North Finchley, London, is a British dance and theatre school providing courses in classical ballet, contemporary dance, jazz dance, and musical theatre. It is accredited by the CDMT, Council for Dance, Drama and Mus ...

. She won the Best Student Award there in 1983, obtaining a degree in 1984, and also obtained a diploma from the

Royal Academy of Dance "Health and happiness" , predecessor = , successor = , formation = 1920 , extinction = , type = NGO , status = Registered charity , purpose = Examination board – dance education and training , headquarters = 36 Battersea SquareSW11 3 ...

. She later received several scholarships from the United States, taking a theatre course in New York with

Mervyn Nelson Mervyn Nelson ( – 17 August 1991) was a stage actor, writer, director and producer. At the age of five, he started acting in vaudeville theatre, and then performed in Broadway theatre shows during the 1940s and 1950s. His stage performances were ...

, studying dance with

Jacob's Pillow Dance Jacob's Pillow is a dance center, school and performance space located in Becket, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires. The organization is known for a Summer dance festival. The facility also includes a professional school and extensive archives a ...

in Massachusetts in 1988, and training with the

American Dance Festival The American Dance Festival (ADF) under the direction of Executive Director Jodee Nimerichter hosts its main summer dance courses including Summer Dance Intensive, Pre-Professional Dance Intensive, and the Dance Professional Workshops. It also hos ...

at the

Durham Performing Arts Center The Durham Performing Arts Center (often called the DPAC) opened November 30, 2008 as the largest performing arts center in the Carolinas at a cost of $48 million. The DPAC hosts over 200 performances a year including touring Broadway production ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

in 1994, and at the

Bates Dance Festival Bates College () is a Private college, private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the Campus of Bates College, campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of th ...

, in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

in 2002.

Professional career

Andermatt joined the ''Companhia de Dança de Lisboa'' (Lisbon Dance Company), formed by Rui Horta in 1987, but left with Rui Horta in 1988 when he formed ''Rui Horta & Friends''. In 1989 she moved to

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, joining Ramon Oller's ''Companhia Metros''. In Barcelona she started to choreograph professionally, winning the 1st Prize at the 3rd ''Certamen Coreográfico de Madrid'' for the work ''En-Fim''. In 1991, she founded her own company in Lisbon, ''Companhia Clara Andermatt'', producing in the same year ''Louca-Louca Sensação De Viver'' for the ACARTE (''Animação, Criação Artística e Educação pela Arte'') Festival. The work of her company came to be referred to as ''Nova Dança Portuguesa'' (New Portuguese Dance), which was characterised by an absence of any particular style, the use of new movement techniques, introduction of elements of theatricality, and presentations in unconventional places. In 1994, Lisbon was the European Capital of Culture, and Andermatt was invited, together with choreographer

Paulo Ribeiro Paulo António da Silva Ribeiro (born 6 March 1984) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Ribeiro was born in Setúbal. After emerging through local Vitória FC's youth academy and making his Pri ...

, to produce work inspired by

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

, a former Portuguese colony. This led to a long collaboration with the local artistic community of that country, which led to ''Dançar Cabo Verde'' (1994), ''Project CV Sabe'' 995), ''Anomalies Magneticas'' (1995), ''Uma Histórias da Dúvida'' (1997) and ''Dau Dau'' (1999). Andermatt returned to Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, in 2009 to work with the dance company ''Raiz di Polon''. During her career, Andermatt has worked with a wide variety of other dance companies in addition to her own, including: ''Ballet Gulbenkian''; ''Companhia Maior''; ''Grupo Dançar Com A Diferença''; ''Companhia Portuguesa de Bailado Contemporâneo''; and the National Ballet of Portugal. Her shows continue to be regularly performed in Portugal and in other countries. ''Companhia Clara Andermatt'', presents dance performances but also attaches considerable importance to training of performers and supporting other bodies with training. It has also worked with disabled people. The company has received funding from Portugal's Ministry of Culture since 2001. From its foundation to 2020 it had produced about 50 pieces choreographed by Andermatt, which have been performed in more than 15 countries. She is regularly asked to choreograph theatrical performances and films.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andermatt, Clara Portuguese female dancers Portuguese choreographers 1963 births Living people People from Lisbon