Alumni profile 

Course studied: BA (Hons) Dance
Graduating year: 2020

“I was always accompanied by very supportive lecturers that provided us with contacts, strategies and tips to get into the professional world.”

João’s story

João studied BA (Hons) Dance at Bath Spa University, graduating in 2020.

Why I chose Bath Spa

I was looking for a place where I could develop myself as an artist and as an individual – a place that could connect me to several artistic languages and different creative approaches.

My experience on the course

I was always accompanied by very supportive lecturers that provided us with contacts, strategies and tips to get into the professional world.

The highlights of my time at Bath Spa were the technique classes, creations and performances, the walks through the campus, and the lecturers. The best thing about the course was the constant creative stimulus. I'm proud of the supportive environment, and the attitude I developed through the course.

My next steps

After graduating in 2020, I immediately started teaching and choreographing in Performact, a professional dance school based in Torres Vedras, Portugal.

In 2021, I created and performed the piece Two Fishes at Mars alongside Andreia Fraga, and I was invited to perform in Né Barros' A Soldier's Tale, in a production by Ensemble - Sociedade de Atores, and Carlos Costa's The Starving Artist, in a production by Visões Úteis. In the same year, I started teaching in the community project CriArte, a collaboration between Balleteatro and Porto City Hall, that aimed to combat school failure through contemporary dance teaching in public schools.

In 2022, I performed in:

  • Orphée by Philip Glass, with movement direction by Sofia Dias and Vítor Roriz
  • Cabaré Chéri by Filipe Moreira in a production by Réptil
  • Em Dois by Roberto Olivan in a production by Instável - Centro Coreográfico
  • Somos Mar by Isabel Barros in a production by Balleteatro 
  • Talvez... Monsanto by Ricardo Pais in a production by the National Theatre of São João.

I also developed several performances with Associação Cultural Gaivotájanela with other emerging artists, based in Matosinhos, and I developed and premiered my second professional creation, the solo Big Rocks are Falling From the Sky at Teatro Aveirense.

My advice for current students

Learn the balance between working hard and enjoying all the challenges.