duration of the performance:
Double Skin is a 40-minute experimental contemporary dance performance that navigates the tension between control and collapse, and between inner freedom and external imposition. At the beginning of the piece, small cups—resembling traditional cupping tools—are placed on the dancer’s body, symbolizing the pressure of social structures. The dancer moves with calculated care, resisting collapse while maintaining balance. As the piece unfolds, the movements intensify into a forceful act of liberation, releasing both body and space.
The performance invites the audience into a shared sensory and emotional journey, where the falling of the unbreakable cups metaphorically marks the fragile boundary between resistance and surrender. Rooted in research on movement, body, and identity, Double Skin creates a space where physicality becomes both a metaphor and a method. It is a raw, poetic, and immersive experience that challenges the viewer to reconsider the forms imposed upon us—and what it means to move beyond them.
Concept, Choreography & Performance: Mostafa Shabkhan Lighting Design: Ali Kouzehgar Music Composition & Sound Design: Arash Ebrahimi Video Art & Documentation: Alireza Abbasi Assistant & Technical Support (Lighting, Sound, Cups Placement): Kimia Salahshouri Premiere: July 2024, Tanzpol Festival, Berlin Production: Independent / Self-produced, without institutional funding