Hold That Gaze

How do you create a dance of self-defense? Brazilian choreographers Davi Pontes and Wallace Ferreira try to answer this question by performing with, through, and despite racial objectifi cation. Against the backdrop of Jair Bolsonaro’s election in Brazil, the artists challenge the audience’s gaze by refusing the spectatorial demand that expects mastery and predictability—a demand often linked to racist, sexist, and colonial frameworks.