PEDRA DURA | SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME, by Alessandro Sciarroni

12 November | 21:00

Location: Church of Nossa Senhora do Carmo Organised by: CAMA a.c. with the support of CM Lagos and DGArtes Duration: 20 min Age rating: M6 Free entry with ticket collection starting 30 min before the performance

• INFO here

Part of the 5th edition of Pedra Dura – Algarve Dance Festival.

In “Save the Last Dance for Me”, Alessandro Sciarroni creates a rare and engaging encounter with the polka chinata — a Bologna courtship dance from the early 20th century. Performed by Gianmaria Borzillo and Giovanfrancesco Giannini, “Save the Last Dance for Me” is an intimate duet that unfolds in a continuous spiral of tension and trust: entwined bodies, spinning, descending, and ascending, in a demanding, almost acrobatic choreography.

Once danced exclusively by men, the Polka Chinata survives today thanks to the meticulous work of Giancarlo Stagni, who reconstructed it from archival images. When Sciarroni discovered it in 2018, only five practitioners remained. Between performance and preservation, “Save the Last Dance for Me” invites audiences to witness, share, and keep alive a tradition on the brink of disappearance.

Free parking - The Cultural Centre of Lagos and the Municipal Library of Lagos offer free parking at the Frente Ribeirinha car park (Avenida dos Descobrimentos) for attendees of their shows/events. To qualify for this discount, users must present a stamp obtained at the ticket office of the Cultural Centre of Lagos or the entrance of the Municipal Library of Lagos. The offer applies only one hour before and up to one hour after each show/event.