In «Happy Island», fiction and reality approach a simultaneously lived and imagined dream. Under the guidance of the Geneva-based Spanish performance artist La Ribot, the dancers of the inclusive company Dançando com a Diferença have undertaken a journey through their desires and visions. They explore the unsettling intensity of the body as it decays and is reestablished, and create temporary dreamscapes with their subjectivity and imagination. Accompanied by Raquel Freires’ stunning film recordings from Maderia, they discover extravagant and intimate imagery which speaks about community and the demand for freedom in piercing clarity and infatuating sensuality.

The dance company Dançando com a Diferença, based in Funchal, Madeira Portugal, was founded by Henrique Amoedo in 2001 with the goal of fostering the collaboration between people with and without disabilities and creating a platform for integrative dance. Under the artistic direction of Henrique Amoedo, who leads the company to this day, Dançando com a Diferença realised works by choreographers such as Paulo Ribeiro, Rui Horta, Clara Andermatt, Rui Lopes Graça or Tânia Carvalho. In 2011 the company was invited by IntegrART to show their pieces «Lift your arms» and «Beautiful People».