John

Rita Ornellas was born in Santo Tirso (Porto) in 1996. Growing up In Leiria from 1999 to 2014, she ayended the Orfeão de Leiria dance school where she acquired vocational training in Classic and Contemporary Dance, and was theleading Ballerina on yearly final shows from 2003 to 2007. She danced with Companhia Nacional de Bailado (National Ballet Company) in “La Dame aux Camélias” in 2003, won 2 Silver Medals at both the 2006 Dance World Competion and the 2006 DANÇARTE competion, and a Best Ballerina Award at the 2009 "Uma Aventura" literary contest, with the play "João and Joana, An Impossible Love" where she was stage director, choreographer and dancer. In 2010 she started a partnership with the Conservatório Nacional dance school which lasted until 2013. From 2012 to 2014 she was Soloist in several dance plays, namely in choreographer Catarina Moreira's “Todos os Ais São Meus”. In 2013, Rita created a video to honour the work of Portuguese artist Rui Reininho and his band, GNR and, in 2014, she was invited to the leading role as a ballet dancer in the short—film "Contradança", made within ESECS' "Escrita e Meios Audiovisuais" multimedia degree at Leiria's Polytechnic School. Moving back to Porto in 2014 --‐ where she lives now --‐ Rita Ornellas ayended the School of Fine Arts at Universidade Católica Portuguesa, where she obtained her BFA degree in Sound & Image in 2017. During this period, she started working with photography, creating the “Lines Without Destiny” series and the “Voyage” series, about a trip to the Madeira island. She was also part of the staff of the Black&White Film Festival in 2015. In 2017, as the final project of her Sound & Image degree at Universidade Católica Portuguesa's School of Arts, she wrote, directed and co--‐produced her first short--‐film “JOHN”.