Vale da Grila
Penela, Portugal
Vale da Grila is an arts, movement & nature center set among old olive groves — home to a working studio, artist residencies, and space for retreats to unfold at their own pace.
Vale da Grila sits on 20,000 square metres of pastoral land in Penela, in the heart of Portugal — a landscape of centuries-old olive trees, open sky, and quiet. It was shaped slowly, with the land leading and the buildings following its lines.
Today it works as a meeting point between earth, movement, and people: a place for artists to make new work, for facilitators to bring their groups somewhere the pace changes, and for anyone drawn to the particular kind of thinking that happens outdoors.
Or is the artistic director of Vale da Grila. She shapes the curatorial direction of the space, mentors the artists who come to create here, and helps build the events and programming that bring people to the valley.
Marin's work draws on years of creating, directing, and developing performance work independently — spanning physical theatre, visual art, and site-specific projects. Her practice looks for new means of expression, often moving past the boundaries of a traditional stage and making live dialogue with the audience part of the work itself.
Hillel initiated and founded Vale da Grila, bringing together a background as a dancer, construction worker, and farmer — a natural link between an understanding of body, movement, and space, and hands-on skill in land work and building.
Working mostly behind the scenes, Hillel oversees the planning, the building of infrastructure, and the day-to-day running of the place — creating the steady, exact ground that lets creation, hosting, and community grow and develop here.
Vale da Grila works with two kinds of people — those bringing a group to lead, and those coming to work on their own practice.
Rent the space in full or in part for a workshop, retreat, or intensive. Built for teachers of yoga, movement, and somatic and wellness practices who want a natural setting without the resort polish.
A stretch of time and space to research and create, with mentorship from choreographer Or Marin. For dancers, choreographers, and independent movement-makers working on their own material.
A dedicated, professional space for creative and physical work, opening onto the outdoor terrain around it.
Built rooms and cabins for individual stays and small groups, set among the olive trees.
Simpler, closer-to-the-land accommodation in the forest, suited to larger groups and workshop participants.
Outdoor and central kitchen, seating and rest areas scattered through the land, and a fire circle for evenings.
Full or partial catering available for groups and retreats, with an emphasis on healthy, local ingredients.
Twenty thousand square metres of open land — old trees, walking paths, and room to spread out.
Here, the experience stays close to the land: simple, hands-on, and shaped by the rhythm of a working valley rather than five-star service.
The residency programme offers dancers, choreographers, and independent artists a stretch of uninterrupted time in the studio and on the land to research and develop new work — away from the usual pressures of a production schedule.
Residents have access to the studio, accommodation, and the surrounding grounds, with the option of mentorship sessions built around where the work is at, not a fixed curriculum.
Ask About DatesResidents working on new material can request mentorship sessions led by the valley's artistic director — feedback grounded in years of choreographic practice, offered alongside the work rather than over it.
The calendar changes with the seasons and who's in residence — from single movement classes to multi-day workshops and community gatherings around the fire.
We also run weekly Yoga and Pilates classes on site. If you'd like to join, get in touch by phone or on Instagram.
Whether you're planning a retreat, applying for a residency, or just have a question about the valley — tell us a little about what you're looking for and we'll get back to you.
