Leather, Bodies, Power: “Cuir” Queers Masculinity at LaVallée

On Friday 27 February 2026, contemporary circus artists Arno Ferrera and Gilles Polet bring “Cuir” to LaVallée — a raw, tender duet that turns male body-to-body contact into a radical exploration of consent, vulnerability and shared power.​

Coming from contemporary circus, Arno Ferrera and Gilles Polet were trained as acrobats before shifting their focus towards creation centred on physical proximity, touch and relational dynamics. They have spent years developing pieces where virtuosic technique serves a deeper research into consent, trust and power relations, presented on stages and festivals across Europe and internationally. With “Cuir”, they enter a space that speaks directly to queer and questioning audiences: what happens when two men in harnesses choose relation instead of domination?

A sensual, political body-to-body duet

On stage, two men, equipped with harnesses inspired by animal traction work, enter into an intense body-to-body encounter. They pull, carry, hold and move each other, making effort, constraint and mutual dependence fully visible. Yet this is not a fight: the goal is not to defeat the other, but to explore how to “make with” him, in a constant negotiation of roles.

“Cuir” proposes a subject-to-subject relationship, where power is exercised together rather than against. One performer may try to guide or impose a trajectory, while the other chooses whether to follow, resist or let go. These positions circulate, reverse and are continually renegotiated, undermining fixed hierarchies and the usual scripts of virility. The harnesses amplify the strength of the bodies while exposing their fragility, allowing an unexpected softness to emerge from total commitment to the other.

By fully exposing this physical and emotional negotiation, “Cuir” offers another reading of body-to-body contact: not as conflict, but as a space of relation, consent and shared jubilation. It questions our representations of power, domination and masculinity, shifting them towards a more unstable, sensitive and deeply political terrain.

Why it speaks to queer audiences

For LGBTQ+ spectators, “Cuir” resonates on many levels. The imagery of bare torsos and leather harnesses inevitably references BDSM codes and gay fetish culture, but the duet subverts expectations: instead of staging domination games, it foregrounds care, listening and reciprocity. The piece dismantles the stereotype of the over-powerful male body and suggests new ways of inhabiting masculinity — plural, negotiated, and open to vulnerability.

In a post-#MeToo context where conversations about consent often focus on women’s voices, “Cuir” also contributes to the necessary work of reconstructing masculinities, placing male bodies and their relationships under a different light. For queer communities used to navigating questions of power, desire and identity, this performance becomes a powerful mirror and a playground for new imaginaries.​

Practical information

• Date: Friday 27 February 2026
• Time: 19:00 – 20:30 (doors at 18:00)​
• Venue: LaVallée, Rue Adolphe Lavallée 39, 1080 Molenbeek-Saint-Jean
  • Map: https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=50.8588583,4.342317​
• Entry: free​
• Organised by: Bruxelles Laïque asbl​
• Contact / info & registration:
  • Email: inscription@laicite.be
  • Website: https://le-varietes.be/

For more background on the piece and its creators:

Context and reviews (FR/NL): cultural venues and circus platforms such as Circuscentrum and Les Halles de Schaerbeek present “Cuir” as a sensual, physical duet that shakes up contemporary masculinity.

Project page: https://unlouppourlhomme.com/cuir/​

KET Magazine is a community‑driven, non‑profit magazine run by volunteers based in Brussels. Get in touch to share your thoughts or tell us about your activities. You can also promote your events on our website or support our work with a donation. Contact us at Info@ket.brussels.