De Stilte
De Stilte
An effort to speak the unspeakable
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None
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Taking children out of their concrete everyday world into the abstract world of the senses: that is what dance company De Stilte (The Silence) strives for. De Stilte wants to incite children to create stories of their own. Boundless stories of the imagination. The language of dance is the perfect way to open up amazing new horizons from a position of seeming abstraction. No spoken words are needed, which explains the company’s name.
De Stilte aims to stimulate self-awareness in children without explanation. Productions become accessible if children can recognize their own feelings and experience their own imagination. A child needs to see, hear and feel the magic of the unknown. Every step from imitation to imagination means a leap forward into ‘the great unknown’. The creative capacities of every child must be engaged in a rapidly changing world. De Stilte’s performances stimulate children’s imagination, encouraging them to play and tell their own story. Children who do not play will never learn.
International:
De Stilte has witnessed a tremendous international growth since 2006 and has become an important ambassador of Dutch dance for children and young people abroad. The company tours Belgium and Germany on a regular basis as well as the Netherlands and over the last 6 years De Stilte has visited Finland, Lithuania, Morocco, Hungary, Austria, Turkey, Curacao, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Hungary and Latvia. De Stilte was invited to perform in the United States of America, Lebanon and Jordan with their remake of the 1998 production Alice (6+) and their international success MADCAP (4+) has been invited to New Delhi and Bombay, India.
The press about Alice: “Thanks to the simple yet effective scenery (a huge wall with revolving doors), and the colourful projections and shadow theatre, the piece conveys the overflowing fantasy of its protagonist. The children in the audience laughed, wiggled, applauded and had a lot of fun – without having to understand each and every dance sequence. Alice definitely proves that theatre – at least in the form of dance – can show more than meets the eye. Kids can tell!” (Leverkusener Anzeige, 2009)
Alice, photo: Hans Gerritsen
Youth Dance