| Maker | Fernando Troya | A Pelo Productions |
| Duration | 60 min |
| Part of | S*XPLORATION |
A shifting game of masculine intimacy
This raw duet of dance, mime, and performance art reveals how queer desire can take many forms. We are given an unfiltered look into the s*x life of artist and creator of A Pelo, Fernando Troya. Filled with kinks, BDSM, and moments of objectification and hypersexualization. Is it inevitable to cross the line when you're pushing boundaries?
A duet of sweat, survival, and lightness
A Pelo tells an intense story that serves as a prequel to Fernando’s award-winning performance We Play So Hard it Hurts. In A Pelo, two bodies become trapped. While one tries to escape, the other becomes the jailer. On stage, a full spectrum of masculine intimacy unfolds – from violence to tenderness. But what happens when the only way out of confinement is through each other?
An alternative story that deserves a stage
This performance is not here to please you, but to consume you. Until nothing is left but skin, breath, and exhaustion. With A Pelo, Pelo Productions once again adds a non-normative narrative to the cultural landscape, even if it may feel uncomfortable at times for the viewer.
A Pelo [a ˈpe.lo]
1. Performed without protection or preparation, without much thought.
2. Naked; without disguise.
3. Colloq. without a saddle, bareback.
4. Fig. Facing something unarmed, often impulsively.
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Performed without protection or preparation, without much overthinking.
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Naked; without disguise.
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Colloq. bareback, without a saddle.
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Fig. To face something unarmed, often impulsively.
Fernando Troya (1989) is a performing artist and the director of A Pelo Productions. He is currently supported by ICK Amsterdam. He is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and is born in Madrid, Spain. He graduates from the Royal Conservatory of Dance in Madrid (2008) and completes a BA in Dance at the María de Ávila Conservatory (2022). His practice as a maker expands into the realm of physical theatre and performance.
In 2024, Fernando produces and presents We play so hard it hurts at Amsterdam Fringe, with support from ICK Amsterdam, AFK, Norma Fonds, Free Willie, and Club Church, among others. He wins the International Bursary Award, which currently allows the production to tour nationally and internationally.
He also produces independent projects, such as the series Reminiscente, a 2.5-year research project on Plato’s Theory of Forms and the painter Francisco de Goya; Essential Rights, which is awarded the BNG Bank Dansprijs in the Netherlands; and Withering, a solo performance that is presented and awarded at various festivals around the world.
Maker: Fernando Troya
Performance: Fernando Troya @fernandotroya.nl & Nacho Sanz @nsfer
Music by: Marko Ivic @markoivic.music
Assistant: Quentin Roger @quentin.movesandtales
Dramaturge: Gerben Vaillant @gerbenjhonvaillant
Light design: Cerian Mason (@akacerian) & Fernando Troya
Scenography by: Cerian Mason, Dana Claasen & Fernando Troya
Business coach: Martijn Schipper
Marketing: Joren Lefebvre
Picture: Ferran Sanchez Castillo
Production Assistant: Rosanna Freda
Special thanks to:
Ignacio Sanz, Barnaby Savage and partners ICK Dans Amsterdam, Free Willie, Club Church and Amsterdam Fringe Festival (especially to Willem van Rossum and Farnoosh Farnia)
This performance is part of the SXPLORATION line-up, where we celebrate s*x and explore how it can heal, liberate, and offer pleasure in times of censorship.
Korzo Studio