"I wanna be a dancin' man," goes the old song by Harry Warren.
But what does it mean to actually be that guy?
"If you have a young boy in a family who says 'Hey, I want to take some dance classes', a lot of eyebrows may go up," said Rafi Maldonado-Lopez, artistic director of the Inter-American Choreographic Institute (ICI).
"Can we start really figuring out what is this idea of masculinity? What does it mean?," he said.
This coming weekend, ICI will present "Men Who Dance" at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts' Amaturo Theater for the second year in a row.
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The performances — which once again feature dancers from some of South Florida's top companies — seek to confront and deconstruct stereotypes surrounding male dancers. One of the highlights from last year's edition, for example, was two men dancing the tango.
Last fall's "Men Who Dance" was one of the shows that marked the Broward Center’s return to live theater after the pandemic closed it down.
The recent easing of COVID-related travel restrictions means the festival is welcoming international artists. Among them is Pontus Lidberg, artistic director of the Danish Dance Theatre in Copenhagen.
"Men Who Dance" will also feature dancers from Paraguay, Mexico and Brazil.
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IF YOU GO:
- Men Who Dance Festival 2021
- Presented by the Inter-American Choreographic Institute
- 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 27, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 28
- At the Amaturo Theater at Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale
For more information about the performance — and about the theater's COVID-19 safety guidelines — please visit the Broward Center's website.
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This interview is part of WLRN's reporting series called Second Act — an in-depth look at how South Florida's arts organizations have adapted during COVID-19. And how long-lasting those changes might become.
If you've got a story for us, please send an email to talktous@WLRNnews.org — with the words Second Act in the subject line.
