Calouste Gulben- kian

(1869-1955)

   Armenian oil tycoon, philanthropist, and art connoisseur-collector who settled in Portugal in World War II and whose donated wealth forms the basis for the Gulbenkian Foundation, situated in Lisbon. Born in Scutari, Turkey, when it was part of the Ottoman Empire, Calouste Gulben-kian made a huge fortune and became one of Europe's wealthiest individuals through investment in Iraqi petroleum. While the oil business and investments were his work, the appreciation and collection of rare art represented his passion. During the 1920s and 1930s, he purchased a rich collection of Western and Oriental art. Some of it was loaned to great museums in London and Washington, and some of it was displayed in his mansion in Paris on Avenue d'lena.

   Gulbenkian's life and the fate of his possessions were changed by the fortunes of World War II and by his residence in Portugal. In April 1942, Gulbenkian fled Vichy France and settled in Portugal. Between his arrival and his death in July 1955, he made dispositions of his possessions and wealth, which have had an almost incalculable impact on Portugal's arts, culture, science, and education. After declining to build a museum for his unmatched art collection either in London or Washington, D.C., Gulbenkian decided to build such a home in Portugal and to endow an international foundation in Lisbon. Since his death in 1955 and inauguration of the foundation headquarters in the late 1960s, a museum and a contemporary arts museum have opened, and Portuguese and other Lusophone arts and science circles have greatly benefited.

   The history of Portuguese dance includes traditional, regional folk dances, modern dance, and ballet. Portuguese folk dances have historic origins in the country's varied regions and are based on traditions associated with the historic provinces. At least by the 18th century, these folk dances, performed in traditional garb, were popular and became differentiated by region. In the south of the country, there were colorful, passionate lively dances by rural folk in the Algarve, the corridinho; and in the Ribatejo, the fandango, the dance most celebrated and known outside Portugal. In northern Portugal, even more folk dances were developed and preserved in each historic province. In Trás-os-Montes, there were the chulas and dancas do pauliteros, in which dancers used sticks and stick play. Each region had its own special folk dances and costumes, with typical jewelry on display, and with some dances reflecting regional courting and matrimonial traditions. Perhaps richest of all the provinces as the home of folk dance has been the Minho province in the northwest, with dances such as the viras, gotas, malháo, perim, and tirana. For the most part, folk dances in Portugal are slower than those in neighboring Spain.

   Various factors have favored the preservation of some of these dances including local, regional, and national dance organizations that, for recreation, continue this activity in Portugal, as well as abroad in resident Portuguese communities in Europe, the Americas, and Africa. As a part of entertainment for visitors and tourists alike, performances of folk dances with colorful costumes and lively movements have continued to interest onlookers from abroad. Such performances, usually accompanied by singing traditional folk songs, can occur in a variety of settings including restaurants, fado houses, and arenas. Such dances, too, are performed in traditional, commemorative parades on the Tenth of June from Lisbon and Oporto to Newark, New Jersey, Toronto, and France.

   In modern dance activities, Portugal has made a diversified contribution, and in recent decades ballet has received intense attention and commitment as a performing art. An outstanding example has been the professional company and its performances of the notable Ballet Gulbenkian, established and financed by the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon. Founded in 1964, Ballet Gulbenkian became an outstanding ballet company, featuring both Portuguese and international ballet dancers and directors. For decades, Ballet Gulbenkian made a distinguished contribution to the performing arts in Portugal. In 2005, unexpectedly and controversially, by fiat of the Foundation's administration, the Ballet Gulbenkian was closed down. The extinction of this ballet company provoked strong national and international protest among fans of ballet, and amounting as it did to a crisis in one division of the performing arts in a country that had expected unstinting financial support from the Foundation established from the financial legacy of notable collector, philanthropist, and financier Calouste Gulben- kian, a resident of Portugal from 1942 to 1955.

    See also Music.