Miguel Bento

Pramod Miguel Bento

Born in Portugal in 1966, Pramod has a colourful history of various degrees and trainings throughout his life. He obtained an MBA and majored in Engineering. Since his childhood he practices judo, traditional karate, kung-fu and taido. Since 1984 he has been teaching taido. Through these he was initiated to Zen meditation and to body mind transcendence. He also has a long practice of contact-improvisation, contemporary dance, and performance art, a door to other techniques and dimensions of living with totality.

Today, Pramod works linking these teachings and those of different masters and friends, to shamanism, the Humaniversity psychology and Osho's work leading to Zorba-the-Buda, the playful master. From this fusion and the will to share his experience, appeared the Bellybutton Encounters.

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Past projects? Click here

Present projects? Click here

Details

The Martial Arts since early age

Practiced Judo from 1974 until 1977 and traditional Karate-do (Nippon Kempo stile) since 1977 until 1979, both with Mitsuharu Tsuchiya.

With martial arts begins a long lasting relation with Za-Zen meditation and body transcendence, also with Mitsuharu Tsuchyia, in Portugal and in several stays in Japan.

Since 1979 practices Taido, in Portugal and in Japan, a fluid Japanese martial art, and teaches since 1984. In 2001, in the island of Okinawa, Japan, Pramod got the 5th Dan Kyoshi degree from Taido's creator, Seiken Shukumine,

Since 1997 he practices a meditative form of Kung-fu, the "Water Lilly" stile, and since 2002, he initiated a regular practice of Nunchaku, both with Guilherme da Luz.

Since 2006 starts to practice Muai-Thay regularly with João Cardoso.

For Pramod fighting is a place to meet himself and the masculine aspect, a space of meditation and harmony beyond confrontation. This Zen master's stick is implacable and always present.

In 1992, Pramod begins his learning of dance, movement, and performance techniques:

Contact-improvisation: Daniel Lepkoff, João Fiadeiro, Angela Guerreiro, Peter Michael Dietz, Howard Sonnencklar, Jordi Cortés, Didier Stilhol and Sebastian Garcia Ferro.

Contemporary movement: Sofia Neuparth, Amélia Bentes, Eva Tremel and Peter Michael Dietz.

Cunningham with Paula Massano.

Voice and singing: Francine Zerfas, Pedro Ramos e Sara Belo.

In 1997 was involved in the creation of CEM, "Centro Em Movimento" (moving centre), a multidisciplinary center for artistic formation, experimenting, investigation and creation in Lisbon.

In 2002, teached regular classes of Contact-Improvisation in "1001 danças" dance school, in Ateneu Comercial de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.

In 2002 he helps to form the Dance section of space EVOÉ in Lisbon, Portugal, where he teached Easy Motion until 2006.

Since 2003 works regularly with Inimpetus, a theather school in Lisbon, teaching Easy Motion.

Self-growth and self-knowledge techniques:

Bioenergetic (Wilhelm Reich, Alexander Lowen).

Shamanic inspired technics: Root-Trance, Sweat lodge or stone people lodge.

Voicing, dicovering our total voice, a voayge through the chakras, by Pratibha.

Active meditations (Osho and Sufi Chakra breathing)

AUM social meditation (Awareness Understanding Meditation) Leadership trainning with Veeresh in Humaniversity, the Netherlands in April 2005.

1st year of the Humaniversity Therapist Trainning, the Netherlands 2006.

Since November 2006 lives and studies Humaniversity Psychology in Osho Humaniversity, the Netherlands.

Other journeys

Since 1982, practices Shiatsu, a japanese massage, and other kinds of hands-on techniques.

Since 1998 practices african percussion, Djimbe and Dumbas, with the group Dumdumba and Nuno Patricio, Filipe, Conny Kadia Eckert and Gueladjo Sané and the group Djamboonda.

All these aspects of life move together with an active Naval Engineering and MBA background.

Comunicates well enough in English, French, Spanish, some Italian, and Japanese.

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Past projects:

Performances of movement and sound:

- Since 1995 until 2000, participated in almost every “espaço experimental” (Experimental space) in CEM, as creator of several projects, as co-creator of others, and whenever possible as a spectator.

- 1995/1996, Project/performance “Verniz” (Varnish), from Sofia Neuparth, in O’Porto, Coimbra, Lisbon and Loures.

- February 1998, participated in the performance “…ffff…(fantastic phenomenon of fan makers!)”, from Sofia Neuparth. "Casa da CERCA", Almada, Portugal, during the 5^th Almada dancing fortnight.

- In May 1999, choreographed and participated with Raquel Alves in the performance “…Sound…”, Gil Vicente Theater in Coimbra, Portugal, during CEM 99.

- Participated in Entrudanças 2000, a Carnival dance festival in Évora, in the South of Portugal, with the percussion group Dumdumba.

- Since 2002 coordinated and participated in several performing actions in space EVOÉ and around Lisbon's streets.

In 1998, was involved in the construction of a special musical instrument for the Pangeia Project – musical instruments.

In 2000/2001, co-organized and participated in seminars/celebrations, in several areas related with holistic human being evolution: Meditation, nourishment, psicadelismo and personal alternatives, among others. And also creative dance, live music, and in the health area, Chinese medicine and massage, Shiatsu, Reiki, Moxibustion.

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Present projects:

Since 2002, started to play, as a guest drummer and singer, with the group Mahamudra (The "great fusion" or "cosmic orgasm"). Journeys through meditative musical landscapes, pure cosmic improvisation.

(Click here to see more about Mahamudra's 1st CD released in April 2005, and hear a sample)

Project Nomad Net, the "nomads with fixed house" exchange net. This is the Bellybutton's bellybutton, a centre for human arts and creativity loccated in a beautifull Village in the countryside of central Portugal. A net of people, spaces and ideas.

Since 1995, that all these different aspects of life have been melting into a common idea, a will to grab life in every small moment and sharing these with other people. In 2001, and as a result of this process appeared the Bellybutton Encounters (see History & Stories of the Encounters), which includes the following activities:

SelfEncounter – An year round course with several regular personal development intensive retreats, all over Portugal.

Intensive Personal Development groups in any part of the world.

Contact-improvisation, Easy Motion e Martial Arts Workshops.

AUM Social meditation sessions.

Shamanic inspired sessions: Root-Trance and Sweat Lodge ritual.

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