Touché

About

Touché is a contemporary male pas de deux by Christopher Rudd that explores gay love, trauma, and self-acceptance. Created during a pandemic residency and premiered digitally in 2020, it received its New York stage premiere in October 2021 with ABT. The work’s intimacy direction by Sarah Lozoff ensures the dancers’ physical and emotional safety while navigating explicit, vulnerable content. Brad Fields’s lighting underscores the duet’s focused, minimal staging. Performed by Calvin Royal III and João Menegussi as Adam and Steve, the ballet is known for its candid physical vocabulary and emotional honesty. Its presentation during ABT’s Pride Nights affirmed LGBTQIA+ visibility on a major ballet stage.