Fernando Melo’s Tempo selected for Venice Biennale

Fernando Melo's Tempo, a collaboration with Finnish artist Kalle Nio, has been selected for the Venice Biennale International Festival of Contemporary Dance, which this year has the theme Time Does Not Exist. 

Wayne McGregor, Director of the Dance Department for the Biennale, wrote in his  introduction to programme: ‘Drawing inspiration from 19th-century stage magic, Nio reimagines its elements as the foundation for his visually striking explorations of the human body and interpersonal relationships within contemporary society. In this collaboration with Brazilian choreographer Fernando Melo, Tempo explores time – its perception, acceleration, deceleration, and eventual end. At the heart of the performance is an apparently insignificant event that takes on grand proportions, revealing the fragility of life. Boundary blurring brilliance.’

Tempo had its premiere in August 2025 at the Helsinki Festival. It is performed this summer at Singapore International Festival of the Arts (15, 16 & 17 May) and then tours across Europe, includiing to Portugal, Germany, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Poland.