soft cracks, hard curves

Name: soft cracks, hard curves - Isadora Tomasi
Start: 2026-11-27T20:00:00+01:00
Location: Frascati, Amsterdam

Isadora Tomasi

Wed 25 Nov - Fri 27 Nov

A journey into the gaze of others and the tension between wanting to be seen and wanting to feel safe.

Wed 25 Nov

Fri 27 Nov

Wed 25 Nov

20:00

Frascati, Amsterdam

Frascati 4

Tickets

Thu 26 Nov

20:00

Frascati, Amsterdam

Frascati 4

Tickets

Fri 27 Nov

20:00

Frascati, Amsterdam

Frascati 4

Tickets

“The moment I slipped on my hyperfemininity costume, my self-confidence changed – like I’d just done a line of coke.”
— Virginie Despentes, King Kong Theory

"I’ve always resisted the sexualisation of my own body. Since developing curves as a teenager, I have hidden them under baggy clothes to avoid unwanted attention. I carry a constant tension between wanting to be seen and wanting to stay safe. This tension is the reason I like to engage with practices around sexualisation. A way to better understand the complexity of my own identity. Indeed, personal experience plays a significant role in my work. I believe that for a work to be relatable, it needs to be deeply close to me. It is in these core experiences that similarities with others often emerge."

soft cracks, hard curves is a one-person act that explores the impact of clothing on the gaze of others, how this gaze influences self-perception, and places the body at the centre as a site of investigation. Through choreography, electronic music and storytelling, the work resists simplistic labels and explores the intricacies of gender.

The performance explores multiple possibilities of being watched, acknowledging contradiction, pleasure, discomfort and transformation. Clothing becomes both costume and tool: a way to negotiate power, visibility and desire. The work is the second part of an ongoing series in which questions around gender are explored. The first piece, big small otherwise, is a duo; soft cracks, hard curves marks a shift into solo work, allowing for a more intimate and direct encounter with the audience.

Duration: 50 mins.
Language: English

Credits

concept, performance & sound Isadora Tomasi dramaturgy Konstantinos Chatzikypraios costume design Jelena Bondt set design Morgana Machado Marques light design Niels Runderkamp creative producer Michael Scerbo production Anca Turtoi outside eye Daniela Bershan and Maciej Sado residency partners workspacebrussels, Theater de Generator and CAVE co-produced by Frascati Theatre funded by AFK, Norma, Cultuurfonds and Amarte thanks to Nonna Betty, Rose Akras, Rita Bifulco, Felix Schellekens, Fernando Belfiore, Marco Croci, Genevieve Murphy, Ainhoa Hernandez Escudero, Riet Meeus, Cornelia (Coco) Hefting, Jonny Tudor, Belle de Wit and Fariborz Karimi

About Isadora Tomasi

Isadora Tomasi (she/they) is an Amsterdam based performance and sound artist. They graduated from DAS Theatre Master’s Programme in 2023 and obtained their bachelor in Mime at the Amsterdam University of the Arts in 2015. Their work shifts between dance, writing, music and sound art within performance settings.
Influenced by queer and feminist theorists such as Sara Ahmed, Paul B Preciado and adrienne maree brown, Isadora’s work challenges binary narratives, disrupts social expectations, and explores the unfamiliar. Personal experience plays a significant role in their practice: by focusing on discomfort and self-exploration, Isadora aims to deconstruct systems rooted in supremacy, separation, violence, and power, nourishing spaces of solidarity. While understanding and acting within the “macro” context can sometimes feel overwhelming, Isadora believes that in the “micro” lies the potential to escape and subvert oppressive and repetitive systemic patterns. Through their practice, Isadora seeks to explore small yet potentially meaningful alternatives to these patterns.  

Their practice emphasizes collaboration and dialogue within artistic communities, both locally and internationally. Their work has been presented in various performing arts institutions, including Frascati Theatre (NL), Van Gogh Museum (NL), Flam Festival (NL), Dance House Lefkosia (CY), Centro de Cultura Digital (MX), CALA Festival (IT), and Spider Festival (SI). 
 
Isadora has participated in artistic residencies such as workspacebrussels, Rosas Studios (BE); Frascati Theatre (NL); New Adventures, Dansmakers (NL); Veem Huis voor Performance (NL); and Month of Research, Uferstudios (DE).