Over four days, the festival presents 39 public performances by 17 companies and artists, featuring over 60 artists from 14 countries. Five creation performances will be showcased, including three from the Navegar category, aimed at emerging creators in Portugal. Highlights include one absolute premiere, seven national premieres, three workshops, and a three-day international forum, in partnership with Outdoor Arts Portugal, which will bring together industry professionals.
Among the featured creations is the performance «À Deriva», co-produced by 23 Milhas and Casa Varela, which will bring contemporary circus to the Navio-Museu Santo André. Also premiering is «Homúnculo», by the company Homens dos Copos, with an open rehearsal scheduled for the European Circus Night on November 14th at the Fábrica das Ideias in Gafanha da Nazaré. The work-in-progress performance «No Pressure…», by Emma Hörnell, exploring perfectionism and obsession through juggling and hula hoop, will also have an open rehearsal.
The main program includes national premieres such as «GHETTO», by Marcelo Nunes and Cie. Dissociée, inspired by Fernando Pessoa; «Kyo Ru Gi», by Petri Dish, a show created and performed by women; «Bello!», by Italy's Fabbrica C, featuring hand-to-hand acrobatics and physical theatre; «Ceramic Circus», by Switzerland's Cie. Unlisted, combining balancing and percussion; «Do Birds Dream of Flying?», by Slovenia's Fabla Collective, blending contemporary dance, circus, and physical theatre; and «Secrets», by Spain's Circo Eia, where five acrobats poetically explore the passage of time.
The festival also features three showcases selected by Outdoor Arts Portugal, presenting Portuguese creations such as «Budô» (Cerca Trova), «A Body and Other Objects (the short story)» (Ana Jordão & Vincent Kollar), and «Monstrum» (João Pataco & Miguel Baltazar). The European platform IN SITU will host the national premiere of «IM BAU» (Roman Škadra) and «Putting bodies on the line» (Cia. Victoria Sickness and Vic Heredero).
The Navegar category will showcase three short creations: «Sinapse Colapse» (Cia. Meio Circo), «Ter-Ter» (On Peut Pas Oublier - OPPO), and «Entre Nó/S» (Cristopher Ledezma). The event will also gather over a hundred participants for LEME PRO, a forum for contemporary circus professionals and artists to discuss relevant sector topics, reinforcing the festival's status as a European benchmark.
LEME also offers three training sessions: a Duo Balance Workshop for families with Fernando Nogueira; a Choreographic Process Methods workshop by the company Homens dos Copos; and an Object Manipulation Workshop with Leo Calvino, aimed at schools.
Organized by the Municipality of Ílhavo through the 23 Milhas project, in partnership with Bússola, the festival has been held since 2017.
