By Jessica Graves

The largest all male dance festival in the United States, Men Who Dance, (MWD) returns to the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts for its triumphant fourth year with an ever-expanding lineup of dancers from around the globe. 

“It’s an explosion of artistic expression celebrating, challenging, deconstructing, and re-defining preconceived notions about men who dance,” says Rafi Maldonado-Lopez, founder of MWD and the Artistic and Executive Director for Sanctuary of the Arts and the InterAmerican Choreography Institute in Coral Gables. “The idea is to shut down tired stereotypes of masculinity.” 

Since its inception, the festival has grown from 15 dancers representing 18 countries, to 41 international dancers representing 25 countries in 2022. “Last year,” Maldonado-Lopez proudly shares, “We had 11 world premieres that went into repertoire for different companies.” This year, Men Who Dance will host two performances on November 25, 2023  at 8PM and November 26, 2023 at 3PM 

While fan favorites like the Tango-dancing twins will return, audiences should also expect “an emotional journey,” promises Maldonado-Lopez. 

Guest artists from around the globe, join South Florida artists including dancers from Miami City Ballet, Dance NOW! Miami, Cuban Classical Ballet, Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami, Tango Out, RTW DANCE, Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida, Syncopate Collective, Florida Grand Opera, and New Canon Chamber Collective. World renowned choreographer Pontus Lidberg will rejoin the cast this year, as well as Argenis Montalvo, principal dancer from Mexico’s National Company.   

One of this year’s presenting artists, Randolph Ward, founder of RTW DANCE will perform A Vogue Extravaganza which he describes as “raw, untamed energy of the New York Ballroom, showcasing the power and vulnerability of male dancers.” For Ward, MWD “has really allowed me the power, privilege, and license to create work that encourages audience members to engage in respectful yet conscious conversation about humanity.” 

For Ariel Rose, one of the founding choreographers of MWD and a soloist with Miami City Ballet who will also perform this November, his mission lies in the widespread education of men in ballet, saying “what I love the most about MWD is that the program dives into multiple facets of “being a man”, from strength, to power, to curiosity, to spirituality, to sentimentality, to poetic, to inspired – the list goes on.” He then adds thoughtfully, “A list that can be expressed absent of words and instead through movement.” 

This annual celebration of movement isn’t limited to the present moment—it’s a continuum of growth. From its inception in 2020 with 15 dancers to now featuring a staggering forty-plus dancers and even incorporating opera singers from Florida Grand Opera, Men Who Dance has evolved far beyond its initial scope. Its mission has expanded to encompass a broader spectrum of artistic exploration, reflecting the evolving landscape of masculinity.