{"id":12545,"date":"2026-05-07T18:54:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T16:54:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hessisches-staatsballett.de\/aktuelles\/weapons-of-tender-friction-wtf\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T11:18:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T09:18:25","slug":"weapons-of-tender-friction-wtf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hessisches-staatsballett.de\/en\/aktuelles\/weapons-of-tender-friction-wtf\/","title":{"rendered":"Weapons of Tender Friction (WTF)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As the Hessische Staatsballett, we are accompanying the artistic development of Weapons of Tender Friction<\/em><\/strong> by Carlos D\u00edaz<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, which was created as part of our pop-up residency at the Staatstheater Darmstadt<\/span><\/span>. At the same time, we aim to give visibility to a choreographic approach that engages deeply with physicality, power, and intimacy.<\/p>\n

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Two bodies enter a space charged with desire. They circle one another, touch, hold on, and resist. What unfolds is not simply a duet, but a negotiation of intimacy in which attraction and aggression remain inseparably intertwined.<\/p>\n

In Weapons of Tender Friction<\/em>, choreographer Carlos D\u00edaz<\/span><\/span> explores the erotic encounter as a site of power. Drawing on contemporary dance and partner dance forms, the performers engage in a physical dialogue of invitation, control, and surrender. Gestures shift rapidly: support becomes pressure, closeness turns into confrontation, pleasure borders on violence.<\/p>\n

The choreography exposes how desire is structured through roles \u2014 who leads, who yields, who takes, who allows. These dynamics are not fixed but are constantly renegotiated, revealing the instability that lies beneath familiar images of masculinity and control.<\/p>\n

Within a minimalist stage environment, bodies, costumes, and objects become extensions of this tension. As the performers move between exposure and protection, the piece traces how intimacy can become a battlefield \u2014 a place where tenderness carries force and violence appears in the form of desire.<\/p>\n

For the development of the piece, D\u00edaz also received the Hessian State Ballet\u2019s Pop-up Residency at the Staatstheater Darmstadt<\/span><\/span> in 2025. The concept of the work was also selected for the Choreographic Workshop at the Staatstheater Darmstadt<\/span><\/span> as part of the Tanz Festival RheinMain<\/span><\/span> and was presented there in autumn 2025.<\/p>\n

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Choreography & Direction: <\/strong>Carlos D\u00edaz<\/span><\/span>
Performers:<\/strong> Francisco Chavez<\/span><\/span>, Carlos D\u00edaz<\/span><\/span>, Juan Cruz Luque<\/span><\/span>
Dramaturgy:<\/strong> Frederic De Carlo<\/span><\/span>
Production Assistance: <\/strong>Frank Burkhardt<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Thursday, 18 June 2026<\/strong>
Friday, 19 June 2026<\/strong>
Saturday, 20 June 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

at the Gallustheater in Frankfurt am Main<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Duration: 60 minutes \u2013 Ages 16+<\/strong><\/p>\n

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