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Draft:Yehuda Duenyas

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Yehuda Duenyas
Born1974 (age 50–51)[1]
Los Angeles[1]
Occupation(s)Producer, choreographer, performer, filmmaker [2]
Years active1997 to present
Known forIntimacy Coordinator
AwardsPrimetime EMMY [3]
WebsiteOfficial website


Yehuda Duenyas (he/they),[4] is an American Intimacy Coordinator, experiential director, and interdisciplinary artist,[3] known for being the first "sex choreographer" credited in a professional programme.[5] Duenyas' works span avant-garde performance, commercial media, burlesque, and immersive storytelling.[1] Duenyas resides in Los Angeles, California,[1] and works internationally as an Intimacy Coordinator, director, and educator, advancing inclusive and ethical practices in storytelling across mediums.[4]

Early life and education

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Duenyas was born in Los Angeles, California, earned a Bachelor of Science in Theater from Skidmore College and a Master of Fine Arts in Integrated Electronic Arts from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). In the late 1990s, Duenyas moved to New York City, where they became active in the downtown performance and experimental theater scenes.[6]

Career

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Experimental theater and burlesque

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From 1999 to 2009, Duenyas was a founding member of the National Theater of the United States of America (NTUSA), an OBIE Award-winning collective known for immersive, genre-bending performance. During this period, Duenyas also performed under the name Duke Lafayette as a burlesque artist at The Box, one of New York City’s most provocative venues for experimental cabaret and erotically charged performance.[1] In the early 2010s, they toured nationally with burlesque icon Dita Von Teese.[2]

Intimacy coordination

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Duenyas began their work in intimacy coordination in 2007 while directing Purity by Thomas Bradshaw, a play featuring explicit and emotionally charged material.[7] Duenyas developed early consent-based frameworks to protect actors physically and emotionally.[8] In 2015, Bradshaw invited Duenyas to choreograph intimate scenes for his play Fulfillment.[9] Rather than accept the title “consultant,” Duenyas requested to be credited as Sex Choreographer, emphasizing the artistic legitimacy of the work,[2][1] Duenyas transitioned to intimacy work for film and television in 2016 and has since worked across most genres and formats.[4]


Intimacy Coordination select credits [4]

Intimacy for Performance credits include:
  • Faye Driscoll’s Weathering (NY Live Arts; The Blackwood, Toronto)
  • The Beautiful People (Rogue Machine, LA)
  • Tom Bradshaw’s Fulfillment (The Flea, NYC; ATC, Chicago).
  • Gregg Araki I Want Your Sex [citation needed]
Film and TV credits include
  • MONSTER: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (NETFLIX);
  • Westworld S4 (HBO);
  • The Afterparty S2 (APPLE TV);
  • American Gigolo (Paramount+).


Experiential and commercial Work

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Beyond intimacy coordination, Duenyas works in immersive and experiential storytelling. A notable example of their immersive work is The Ascent (2011),[10] an interactive installation in which participants levitate using EEG brainwave sensors. Premiered at the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC), the work combined neuroscience, meditation, and performance to explore themes of surrender and transcendence.[11] Duenyas has directed and designed experiences for clients including Google, YouTube, Netflix, HBO, Showtime, Audi, Spotify, MGM/UA, and Walt Disney Imagineering.[3]

Awards and recognition

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  • Love Has No Labels[12]
Primetime Emmy Award
8 Cannes Lions
11 Clio Awards
2 Facebook Awards
  • OBIE Award – National Theater of the United States of America[14]
  • In 2022, Duenyas co-founded CINTIMA (Cinematic Intimacy Artists),[6] a SAG-AFTRA accredited training program,[15] for aspiring Intimacy Coordinators.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Paumgarten, Nick (2015-10-05). "A Sex Choreographer at Work". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 2023-10-23. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
  2. ^ a b c Cohen, Anne (2016-12-15). "Sex Choreographer Filming Theater, TV, Movie Sex Scenes". Refinery29. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
  3. ^ a b c "UNIT9 is an innovative studio". UNIT9. 2017-10-29. Archived from the original on 2024-12-04. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
  4. ^ Williams, N.J. (2024). Canonical Misogyny: Shakespeare and Dramaturgies of Sexual Violence. Edinburgh University Press. p. 191. ISBN 978-1-3995-0229-0. Retrieved 2025-05-09. Kari Barclay names Yehuda Duenyas as the first 'sex choreographer' to be credited as such in a professional programme, in acknowlegement of his worn on Thomas Bradshaw's Fulfullment at the Flea Theater in New York in 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Mission". CINTIMA: Intimacy Coordinator Training. 2025-05-05. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
  6. ^ Bradshaw, T. (2007). Purity. G - Reference,Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series. Samuel French. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-573-65011-6. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
  7. ^ Taylor, Kelly-Anne (2021-02-05). "How does filming sex scenes work? Intimacy Coordinators explained". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 2024-07-22. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
  8. ^ Brantley, Ben (2015-09-22). "Review: Thomas Bradshaw's 'Fulfillment,' on One Man's Ceiling, and His Frustrations". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2024-06-14. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
  9. ^ Kaminer, Ariel (2012-06-22). "'The Ascent': Levitating in Brooklyn". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2024-05-13. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
  10. ^ Lamont, Tom (2011-03-13). "Yehuda Duenyas's flight of fancy". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
  11. ^ "Persuade & Influence / Mindride". Television Academy. Archived from the original on 2025-05-09. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
  12. ^ "HOW ARE WE". Onassis Foundation. 2020-05-29. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
  13. ^ Rocco, Claudia La (2018-04-02). "'DON JUAN'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
  14. ^ "Training Program Accreditation". SAG-AFTRA. Archived from the original on 2025-02-07. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
  15. ^ Beyda, Katherine (2025). The Creative Producing Handbook: An Insider’s Guide to Production. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-04-034210-7. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
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