The naked truth about nude dancing- in pictures

The naked truth about nude dancing – in pictures

As a nude Canadian troupe challenges the attitudes of London audiences to the body, we look at uses of nakedness in contemporary dance – to unsettle, to probe and to enlighten

Nagisa Shirai in The Rite of Spring by Ballet Preljocaj, at Sadler's Wells in 2002. 'From the moment [the] six women throw down their knickers as casual gauntlets to the six watching men, the piece embarks on a trajectory from the titillation of desire through to its destruction,' wrote Judith Mackrell at the time. Photograph: Tristram Kenton

Another shot from The Rite of Spring. According to our reviewer, 'Preljocaj mocks the men as studs and forces the exhausted lovers to shuffle like a slave gang in thrall to their own libidos.' Photograph: Tristram Kenton

Jason Piper and Cody Choi in Arthur Pita's Camp (2004), a comedic piece of dance theatre revolving around a trip to the countryside. Pita himself had to step up and perform naked when a cast member was injured. Photograph: Phil Conrad

Nuno Silva, Lorena Randi and Diana Payne-Myers in Pita's God's Garden last year. As a nude dancer, veteran Payne-Myers has enjoyed the favour of directors who wish to dramatise humanity's defencelessness or stage a little elderly joie de vivre. Photograph: Phil Conrad

Javier de Frutos in the self-choreographed Transatlantic. De Frutos called dancing naked 'the least sexy thing I've ever done', but is obsessed with audiences' natural voyeurism and with finding ways to deflect their attention away from genitalia to other, more eloquent parts of the body. Photograph: Tristram Kenton

Karina Champoux and Aude Rioland in Un Peu de Tendresse Bordel de Merde! (A Little Tenderness for Crying Out Loud!), in London from 2 June. Choreographer Dave St-Pierre is fascinated by taboo-breaking, and attempts to create a raw intimacy with audience members while also making them laugh. Photograph: Dave St-Pierre

The Sadler's Wells show explores fears and fantasies, as naked performers clamber into the crowd every night and do fight scenes, their genitals often in perilously close proximity to the audience. Photograph: Dave St-Pierre

Cheeky ... a parting shot from Un Peu de Tendresse. Photograph: Dave St-Pierre