It was November 2020 and South Florida arts venues were two months into the state's 'Phase 3' — the COVID-19 pandemic reopening plan.
Although large auditoriums were allowed to operate at full capacity, many were still being cautious. The Broward Center for the Performing Arts was one of many that limited seating to far less than its normal capacity.
Most theaters adhered to strict safety guidelines laid out by local, state and federal health officials; travel restrictions prevented many out-of-state or international artists from appearing locally.
Not exactly ideal circumstances for launching a brand new dance festival. But for Rafi Maldonado-Lopez, there was no better time to introduce the world to 'Men Who Dance.'
"Artists survive through all types of war," says Maldonado-Lopez. "That's what we do. Whenever there's distress, there's great art that happens at the same time."
The all-male dance festival, which bills itself as the largest of its kind in the United States, is back in South Florida this week for its fifth straight year.
Maldonado-Lopez, a multi-disciplinary performer, choreographer and teacher, conceived 'Men Who Dance' as a way to reevaluate what masculinity is on stage and to deconstruct the stereotypes associated with male dancers.
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He says that early in his own dance career, one particularly frustrating message voiced by teachers and choreographers was the image of the female dancer as the 'pretty picture' while the male dancer served as the 'frame.'
And then a college friend gave him some food for thought.
"One of my roommates was an architect and studying painting," he said. "And he goes, 'Do you know that sometimes the frame is worth more than the picture?'"
One of the crowd-pleasers during the 2020 premiere of 'Men Who Dance' featured a tango performed by two men.
The 2021 edition included a pas de deux — a dance duet — re-envisioning Bizet’s 1875 opera Carmen as a love story between the two male leads.
And last year's festival brought back Miami-based Randolph Ward's A Vogue Extravaganza — which pays tribute to the underground ballroom and vogue dance scenes popularized by Black and Latino gay youth in the 1980s.
Maldonado-Lopez stresses that the purpose of 'Men Who Dance' is not to promote any agendas — but merely to throw down the gauntlet to artists eager to explore gender roles.
"To go out there and accept, applaud and celebrate that there are so many different ways that men can be the main theme on stage," he says.
This year's 'Men Who Dance' line-up includes performers with Miami City Ballet, Dance NOW! Miami, Cuban Classical Ballet, Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami, Tango Out, RTW Dance, Arts Ballet Theatre, Florida Grand Opera, New Canon Chamber Collective, Syncopate Dance Collective, as well as special guest artists from Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Brazil.
IF YOU GO:
Men Who Dance
Amaturo Theater
The Broward Center for the Performing Arts
201 SW Fifth Avenue
Fort Lauderdale
Box Office: 954-462-0222
Saturday, Nov. 30th at 8 pm
Sunday Dec. 1st at 3 pm
For ticket information, visit browardcenter.org
