Fringe: Double Skin

Mostafa Shabkhan

Fri 5 Sep ’25 - Thu 11 Sep ’25

Confined within an imposed mold — moving between control and collapse, tension and release.

on hold

Fri 5 Sep ’25

Thu 11 Sep ’25

on hold

Fri 5 Sep ’25

19:00

Frascati, Amsterdam

Frascati 2

To wishlist

on hold
Sun 7 Sep ’25

19:00

Frascati, Amsterdam

Frascati 2

To wishlist

on hold
Thu 11 Sep ’25

21:30

Frascati, Amsterdam

Frascati 2

To wishlist

on hold

Ticket sales for this performance will start at a later date. Due to the current political situation in Iran, it is still uncertain whether the performance can take place in September. As soon as more information becomes available, this page and our social media channels will be updated.

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.

Duration: 40 mins.
Podiumpas not valid for Fringe performances

Credits

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

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About Mostafa Shabkhan

Mostafa Shabkhan is an Iranian dancer, choreographer, performer, and researcher based in Tehran. He began his artistic career in 1995 as a theater actor in his hometown, Kashan. Since 2006, he has been actively involved in physical theater and contemporary dance techniques. In 2014, together with fellow artists, he co-founded MaHa Dance Projects, through which he has created and performed numerous works across Iran, Europe, and the Middle East.

Since 2009, he has been teaching contemporary dance, and in 2020, he founded his own dance studio, Gericheh, in Tehran. There, he organizes workshops and mentors a new generation of dancers. His works often explore the relationship between the body and society and are deeply rooted in Iranian culture, rituals, and social structures.