ENCOUNTERS

Emma Walker — Fri, 06 Nov 2026 17:30:00 +0000

Part of SPECTRUM: A two year ŻfinMalta Artist Development programme supporting Malta based choreographic Artists

This evening’s programme

ŽfinMalta invites you into the studio for the first performances of ENCOUNTERS

On the 6th November, ENCOUNTERS features the work of three artists who have been in residence with ZfinMalta for the week, alongside a guest performance by Pearl Calleja and Marti Blanco Romeu. Read more about the featured works below.

Simon Riccardi-Zani

Landscapes are an archive of our past and future experiences. They hold the history of where we are from and offer the potential of what to do next within their own limited resources.

Our bodies, on a personal scale, reflect the same principle and resonate as a landscape of our own selves. A container of memories, limited by its own nature, evolving at a pace we don’t have control of, but also, as a platform to expand, learn, and enjoy.

Landscapes and bodies share this fragile narrative, a fine balance that demiurgic forces trample upon the altar of productivity and profitability: using, throwing, digging, cutting transforming, fragmenting.

How do we survive when both landscapes and bodies are puzzled? What posture is adopted in this relentless rush forward?

It's really nice to work with my previous colleagues and friends, and experiment with something completely new and out of my comfort zone, since my work usually focuses more on a dance theatre kind of vocabulary. It's a really great challenge. I think the audience might expect to be surprised, because it's rather different to what I'm used to creating, and I hope they are equally moved. I'm surrounded by beautiful dancers who are really committed and I can't wait to share that.

Abigail Agius and Zoe Camilleri

A space of fantastical imagination, inhabiting an island often has a lot to do with dreaming: to dream of beyond, to wonder about what lies past its shores, and to exist in the tension of whether to stay or to go. Sifting through the sediments of this postcolonial imaginary, Zoe and Abigail gaze onto the horizon as a constant presence, a delineation marking what lies within reach and what remains afar. Picking at the hazy peripheries between desire and decision, sleep and wake, the duo, together with the ŻfinMalta dancers, navigate these liminal spaces within the body, in an exploration of the physical impulses which lie between dreaming, longing, waking and action.

It's really a luxury to be able to work with Malta's national dance company, quite a rare thing...I think it's a real privilege to be working with these dancers, and it's a really special opportunity to be part of one of the few choreographic development containers on the island.

Guest Performance

Pearl Calleja & Martí Blanco Romeu present a 12-minute contemporary duet, that reflects on the evolving nature of human relationships. Through movement, the piece examines how societal changes challenge traditional ways of connecting, encouraging moments of pause, critical reflection, and empathy. It explores care, respect, and equality, inviting audiences to reconsider inherited assumptions and envision alternative ways of relating in today’s fast-paced world. A delicate interplay of trust, tension, and tenderness between the two performers brings these ideas vividly to life on stage.

Originally commissioned for Dance Festival Malta 2026, and supported by Spazzju Kreattiv

Following this event, two performances of ENCOUNTERS remain. Over the next two Fridays, discover new work by artists Gabriele Farinacci, Amber Van Veen, Douglas Comley, and Sarah Vella, all selected through ŻfinMalta’s SPECTRUM open call.

Alongside these exciting new creations, look forward to further guest performances, all taking place in the intimate setting of ŻfinMalta Studios.

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Events from November 6 – ŻfinMalta