Cristina Planas Leitão
[she / her]
Performing Arts Curator • Choreographer • Consultant • Dramaturg • Teacher
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currently Founder & Artistic Director SUPERNOVÆ (PT / ES), Curatorial Team of Something Great (DE), Coordinator Artistic Research Module at ArtEZ (NL)
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formerly Curator & Artistic Director of Teatro Municipal do Porto, DDD - Festival Dias da Dança & CAMPUS Paulo Cunha e Silva [2018-2024]
Porto (PT), 1983
BA in Contemporary Dance at ArtEZ
Arnhem (NL), 2006
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© Dinis Santos
Cristina Planas Leitão is a performing arts curator, dramaturge and choreographer, based in Portugal. Her integrated curatorial practice focuses on the development of sustainable creative formats, new narratives and caring relationships within the performing arts, with a growing interest in experimental practices that are politically and socially engaged. She has a strong interest in the intersections of curatorial and organizational practices with those of research and education. Over the years, Cristina has blurred the lines of disciplines, nationalities and hierarchies and sees the role of the curator as a facilitator, committed to anti-fascism, access and care. She has collaborated as a curator, dramaturg and teacher with various European institutions, networks and artists with a wide knowledge of the performing arts field in Europe and globally, with high specificity in Portugal, Spain and Brazil.
In 2025, she co-founded SUPERNOVÆ with Natalia Álvarez Simó (ES), a consulting and curatorial platform. Since 2024, she has been part of the curatorial group contributing to the new Something Great Arts Centre (DE) and she takes over as the coordinator of the Artistic Research Module at ArtEZ - Bachelor in Arts / Dance Artist.
Her tenure from 2018 to 2024 as curator and later as Artistic Director at Teatro Municipal do Porto, DDD – Festival Dias da Dança, and CAMPUS Paulo Cunha e Silva has left a transformative legacy. Notably, Cristina launched a pivotal residency center in 2021, expanded the institution’s reach, and brought international collaboration to the forefront through projects like Future Laboratory. After nearly seven years shaping this influential cultural landscape, she now embarks on an expansive independent path, enriching the international stage with her artist-centric ethos.
Her influence extends beyond curation: as dramaturg for Marco da Silva Ferreira’s new work F*cking Future, premiering in 2025, at Biennale de la Danse de Lyon; as a juror for the Portuguese Platform for Performing Arts (2023 and 2025) and La Caixa / Espaço do Tempo Creation Grants (2023 and 2024); and as a nominator for the SEDA - Salaviza European Dance Award by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
As a choreographer, Cristina views her work as an act of resistance and affection, delving into themes linked to social and political movements and their interplay with the performing body within the theater’s intimacy. Her work is showcased in the series Portugal que Dança / RTP2 (Ep. 02). The latest work premiered in 2023 [O SISTEMA] continues to tour throughout 2025.
Since 2010, Cristina has been teaching David Zambrano's Flying Low and Passing Through techniques internationally, employing a somatic and unconventional approach, and conducting workshops that reflect her artistic practice. She lectures at Expanded Contemporary Dance / Amsterdam Hogeschool voor de Kunsten (NL) and several other universities and companies.
Cristina is also dedicated to studying Hatha Yoga (CYT 200) and Vedic Astrology.
Awards, Scholarships & Grants
2021
National Arts Directorate Support/ DGArtes for the creation of [O SISTEMA] with bactéria
2019
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation [internationalization] for touring FM [featuring mortuum] in Italy
2017
National Arts Directorate Support/ DGArtes for the creation of UM [unimal] with bactéria
2017
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation [internationalization] international residencies of UM [unimal] with bactéria
2017
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation [internationalization] of bear me in New York
2016
Finalist at Danse Élargie 2016 at Théâtre de la Ville, Paris (co-organized by Musée de la Danse, Rennes) with The Very Delicious Piece XL. Financially Supported by the Municipality of Porto
2015
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
Program for Dance Creation for FM [featuring mortuum]
2015
National Arts Directorate Support/ DGArtes for the Creation of FM [featuring mortuum] with bactéria
2015
GDA Direitos dos Artistas for touring the piece FM [featuring mortuum] with bactéria
2014
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
Program for Dance Internationalization of The Very Boring Piece
2013
Nominated with The Very Delicious Piece for Gibanica (Moving Cake)
Slovene Dance Award for best Slovene dance piece of 2011-13
2010
Scholarship recipient of Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian (PT) for David Zambrano’s project (internationalization)
2009
Scholarship recipient of DanceWEB 5-week residency scholarship Program within the frame of Impulstanz Festival 09, Vienna (AT) mentored by Philipp Gehmacher and Christine de Smedt. Grant holder from Nederlandse Fonds voor de Podium Kunsten (NL), Van denEnde Foundation (NL), Fundação Engenheiro António de Almeida (PT) to participate in the program
2008
3rd Prize in the competition c.o.n.t.est08 in Estonia with the solo SKINNED (choreography and performance). Prize given by Wim Vandekeybus and Teet Kaask
bactéria associação cultural
bactéria is a non-profit cultural association, funded in May 2015, in Porto, focused on the artistic and curatorial practices of Cristina Planas Leitão and associates.
Artistic Direction
Cristina Planas Leitão