Poliana Lima (Brazil, 1983) is a choreographer, dancer, and teacher living in Madrid.
Since childhood she wanted to dedicate herself to dance and continues to do so today. Dancing is
a way to discuss the human conditions and the mysteries of our existence. As well as training in
classical ballet and contemporary dance, Poliana holds a degree in Social Science from the
Campinas State University in Brazil.
In 2011, she made her first short professional choreography, Palo En La Rueda/Stick in the Wheel.
One year later, she collaborated with Lithuanian choreographer Ugne Dievaityte. Their
collaboration resulted in the piece Es Como Ver Nubes/It’s Like Watching Clouds’ which was
awarded the Audience Prize at the 26th Choreographic Contest of Madrid; second prize at the One
Piece Contest, as well as first prize at the Vila Real Dance Festival in 2014. They also created
Flesh, the piece with which she toured nationally and internationally, including to the Fringe
Festival (Edinburgh), Spring Forward Aerowaves, el Mercat de Flors, El Dansa Valencia, the New
Baltic Dance Festival, the Window of Dance (Madrid in Dance) as well as at the Korzo Theatre.
In 2013 she was invited to participate in the European ‘Performing Gender’ initiative, where she
created Cuerpo-Trapo/Rag-Body’ for the Contemporary Arts Museum of Zagreb.
In 2014 she launched Atávico /Atavistic’, her first ensemble piece, which was awarded the First
Prize at the 28th Choreographic Contest of Madrid, as well as the Audience’s Award, the Critics’
Award, the 2015 Dance Web Scholarship from Impulstanz Vienna, and a residency at Tanzhaus,
Zurich. In 2016 she created a short work entitled, Las Cosas Se Mueven Pero Se Dicen Nada/
Things Move But They Do Not Say Anything. The following year she premiered her solo Hueco/
Hollow at the Teatros Canal, Madrid, and at the BAD Bilbao Festival.
From June 2018 she continued touring work internationally. She has been an Associate Artist at
the Conde Duque Centre (Madrid) where she created and premiered 2 new works, Aqui, Siempre/
Here, Always and Las Cosas en la Distancia/ Things in the Distance.
Her latest full-length work Las Cosas Se Mueven Pero Se Dicen Nada/ Things Move But They Do
Not Say Anything premiered in September 2020 at Teatros Canal and in 2021 has been
programmed in Paris, Athens, Ljubljana, Rijeka. The work was selected for Aerowaves Twenty 21.
In 2022, the first part of his trilogy about identity with Oro Negro was premiered at the Festival
de Otoño de Madrid.
In 2024, the second part will be released with The Common Ground.