Israeli choreographer Adi Schwarz presents a modern dance performance on 25 and 26 September in the Sala Negra auditorium of Teatros del Canal, exploring what it means to be a man today. The performance features very loud music and intense sounds.
Inspired by Wakefield Poole’s 1971 film of the same name, a landmark of gay cinema, the work is a profound investigation of softness, fragility and femininity within the male body.
In a time when masculinity is constantly being reassessed, the piece contributes to this conversation through the language of dance. There is no spoken text, but a clear commitment to re-politicising tenderness, inhabiting the body freely, and reconnecting with what society has long labelled as weak.
The trio of performers takes the audience on a sensory journey that bridges echoes of the past, realities of the present and visions of the future. On stage, the dancers engage with a physicality that evokes touch, comfort, desire and doubt. There are no rigid choreographies; movement flows organically, nourished by contact, pauses and shared breath.
The piece seeks to challenge and normalise lingering taboos around intimacy between men, celebrating vulnerability as a form of beauty. It offers a chance to rethink the male body through art, history and desire.
Adi Schwarz, born in Israel in 2003, trained in classical and contemporary dance at the Reut School of Arts and the Haifa Dance Excellence Centre. Recognised from a young age with scholarships for artistic excellence, he trained at the prestigious Batsheva Dance Company, becoming a full member in 2022. He has collaborated with key figures such as Ohad Naharin and Bobbi Jene Smith, developing a choreographic language that combines physical intensity, theatricality and conceptual depth.
Schwarz’s work is marked by a queer, critical and poetic approach to themes such as masculinity, fragility, memory and desire. In productions such as Cheap Material, The Pink Triangle, and Degel Schwarz, he explores the limits of the male body through emotion, conflict and tenderness.
On 25 September, a post-performance Q&A session will be held.
Artistic credits:
Venue: Teatros del Canal - Sala Negra
- Choreography - Adi Schwarz
- Dancers - Michele Simi, Koen Kaya Eye and David Grimaldi/Adi Schwarz
- Production - Centro Coreográfico Canal – Teatros del Canal
Duration: 1 hour and 5 minutes
Recommended age 16+.
Warning: contains very loud music and intense sounds
