Today’s theatre pick is Üüve-Lydia Toompere’s solo show FLEX, which invites you into a distorted gym and challenges what we really mean by muscles, beauty and self-discipline. One thing is clear: this is no ordinary dance performance.
Creator, director, choreographer: Üüve-Lydia Toompere
Production dramaturg: Siim Tõniste
Lighting designer: Mikk-Mait Kivi
Sound designer: Kenn-Eerik Kannike
Sound technician: Kaur Terep
Set designer: Niina-Anneli Kaarnamo
Producer: Kärt Kelder
Supported by: Cultural Endowment of Estonia
Thanks to: Tarvo Porroson, StageArt, Ghost Divison
Premiere: 5 December at the Independent Dance Stage BUY A TICKET
Theatre pick: why FLEX speaks to gym enthusiasts too
We usually keep the gym and the theatre in separate worlds. One is a room full of mirrors and iron barbells; the other sits behind a red velvet curtain. FLEX takes the two and puts them in the same room.
The production follows Toompere as she emerges from a cocoon before the audience’s eyes and transforms into her new alter ego, Flex. A perfect moment is built onstage, stone by stone. But the longer this load is carried, the more the body itself begins to crumble. It is a familiar feeling to anyone who has ever exhausted themselves through training, eating or the sheer effort of trying to be.
So what actually happens? As a spectator, you find yourself caught between two reflections: on one side, a laboratory for self-improvement; on the other, the question of whose gaze we are building ourselves for in the first place.
How the gym makes it onto the stage
FLEX takes the aesthetics of the gym—poses, mirror pep talks, repetitive movements—and stretches them into theatrical material. The sound design gives this a mechanical underpinning: a repeating pulse that evokes both club dancing and a strength training set.
In Mikk-Mait Kivi’s hands, the lighting is sharp and clustered. It does not draw you in; it displays the body like an exhibit. At times, you feel as though you are standing in front of a shopping centre window; at others, you are inside an anatomical atlas.
The entire visual language supports the central question: where does caring for yourself end and performing for others begin?
Üüve-Lydia Toompere – a theatre pick for followers of the dance scene
Toompere is a freelance artist working in Estonia and Berlin. Her previous productions have centred on examining social contexts and involving the audience. Her club dance workshop Techno Praxis and the audience-participation production supersocial have attracted the most attention.
She has since developed an interest in the club, fetish and pole dance scenes. In these worlds, she performs as her alter ego Fluxxious. Flex and Fluxxious are Toompere—but in a more extreme form. These two characters fit into today’s information-saturated world, with its competition for attention, better than simply Lydia does.
FLEX is her first full-length solo production at the Independent Dance Stage. If you have seen supersocial or Techno Praxis, you will recognise her signature style straight away—but FLEX takes the physicality further.
A theatre pick for you – who FLEX is for
The honest answer: this is not a show you go to simply to pass an evening. You have to want to sit somewhere the stage asks you questions rather than offering ready-made answers.
FLEX will particularly resonate with you if you:
- know gym culture from the inside—train at MyFitness, Sparta or ArtGym—and recognise its codes;
- follow the contemporary dance and performance art scenes;
- are interested in questions about how the body is presented on social media and in public spaces;
- are looking for a production that goes beneath the surface and gets under your skin a little.
If you are expecting a classical dance performance with soft lines and a musical narrative, FLEX will probably leave you unsatisfied. But if you are ready to watch someone relentlessly design themselves onstage and then begin to crumble beneath that design, the ticket is worth it.
Reviews
“The strongwoman’s allegory of the cave” – Karin Allik, Sirp, 14.02.2025
“Stage sprint: Gymsister” – Gregor Kulla, Müürileht, 16.01.2025
“Flex – Blending Strength and Creativity: The Intersection of Bodybuilding and Art” – Kelli, Sour Cream and Dill, 27.12.2024
FAQ
Where is FLEX performed?
At the Independent Dance Stage in Tallinn. You can find performance dates and tickets via the “BUY A TICKET” link above.
Is the performance in Estonian?
FLEX is a dance production in which body language and sound carry the story more than words do. This means an English- or Russian-speaking companion can easily follow the performance too.
How long is the show?
The solo show runs for no more than one hour, with no interval. The exact running time is listed alongside the ticket information on the theatre’s website.
Come and train! ArtGym
