‘89 (working title) is Joana Dias’ debut contemporary circus solo, blending aerial hoop, song, dance and immersive sound. Drawing on her Portuguese and Angolan heritage, Dias reflects on the disappearance of her father in 1989, the year she was born, to explore themes of memory, race and identity.

Visually striking and multilingual, the piece moves fluidly between tenderness and bold theatricality. Dias’ physicality, looping and searching without settling, mirrors the restless nature of the diasporic experience. Fragments of family conversation intertwine with breathless movement, where humour and joy rise alongside loss.

‘89 is a powerful and atmospheric work for anyone interested in stories that cross cultures, reframe history and find beauty in the in-between.