Forty-two year old stage director, performer and choreographer, Diniz Sanchez, finds theatre and expressions enjoyable. “For me, it is all about communicating,” says the Lisbon born performer, who was in the city for his solo show titled Spicy Tutuboy Royale — a performance in seven segments.
Diniz goes back in time to tell us about his journey as an artiste. “I started as a dancer when I was 16,” recalls the man, who gradually widened his career when he worked with the Spanish stage director Emilio Sagi as an assistant director and choreographer. He has not looked back ever since and has gone on to work with various theatre companies in India, France, Portugal and Belgium.
He narrates how “Spicy Tutuboy” came into being. “The idea was birthed at the Spanish Festival Vila-Real en Dansa’s 2017 edition. It was during one of my shows, where I had a segment where the audience chose a prop, costume and music, which I had to use on stage. One such combination was a pair of high heels, a tutu and a Spanish song. That is when the character “Spicy Tutuboy” came to be.”
“Spicy Tutuboy is a character that has an alter ego with no limitations. That is what inspired me to take it up,” explains Diniz with a smile. “As it is a man in a tutu and heels, he will make you think about your concepts of what it means to be masculine or feminine,” adds Diniz.
Having been brought up by two women — his mother and grandmother, he proudly confesses that it is their strong feminine side that inspired him to induce a mixture of both masculinity and femininity into the character. Diniz tries to break the stereotypical notions of masculine and feminine with his work. He also adds that “it is an attempt to inspire the existence of both shades, where it is okay to feel like a man and a woman”.
“My biggest education is dance because that is where I come from,” affirms the dancer.
When asked about what he wished to convey through this character, he chuckles and says, “Freedom for everyone. Be yourself. In today’s world, which tells you what to do and what not to do, it is better if we could just decide for ourselves what we want to be, irrespective of the stereotypical expectation from the society.”
