My Body? My Sex!
NOÉ is a queer multidisciplinary artist with a deep connection to the world of contemporary dance. Artistic director and founder of NO é Artes Performativas, he is currently undertaking a Master’s degree in Choreographic Creation and Professional Practices at ESD. Notable collaborations include work with Benvindo da Fonseca, Inês Bernardo, Gonçalo Lobato, Cátia Esteves, Nicolas Cantillon and Laurence Yadi, Martim Pedroso, Rui Massena and Ana Rita Barata. Creator of projects such as: ‘confiança’ [2017]; ‘Djelem’ [2017]; “ser” [2018]; ‘A Hierarquia do Medo!’ [2024]; and more recently ‘Ei Toire Linde!’ [2025]
An original choreographic work and research project by the choreographer NOÉ that explores the transformative and liberating potential of the body through a critical reflection on gender, identity, sexuality, desire and the power dynamics that permeate bodies in the contemporary social context.
The project comes from questions raised in the artist’s previous work, A Hierarquia do Medo!, which explored fear as a mechanism of control and violence. This process revealed how the construction of socially accepted gender behaviour centred on toxic masculinity — fuelled by social stereotypes of binary gender — can contribute to dynamics of exclusion and violence.
In My Body? My Sex!, the focus shifts to the possibility of imagining and exploring alternative ways of inhabiting the body and desire, challenging established social norms and broadening the scope of representation in contemporary theatre.
The creative process unfolds through an interdisciplinary research approach in dialogue with experts in anthropology, gender and sexuality studies, as well as through participatory methodologies that include meetings and creative workshops with local communities, with a particular focus on the narratives of LGBTQIA+ communities. Using tools such as participant observation, focus groups, improvisation, active listening and creative writing, testimonies and experiences are gathered, which are subsequently transformed into dramaturgical and choreographic material for the creation of the piece.
