The « Dance of Silence »
In three evenings, at the Silvia Monfort Theatre in Paris, the « Festival of Silence » will let you discover the shows of six professional dance and visual music (percussionists, guitarists and deaf "sign-singers") companies from China, The United States, France, England and Russia.
Invited foreign dance companies:
Wild Zappers (USA) | Common Ground (GB) | Jinang (Chine) | Rathskellar (USA) | Chandanse (France) | Russian Soul (Russia)
American dance company: "Wild Zapper" of Greenbelt, Maryland, USA - 6 deaf dancers.
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The Wild Zappers (WZ), all deaf male dance company, was founded by Irvine Stewart with the support of Fred Michael Beam and Warren « Wawa » Snipe in 1990. |
| It was originally created to give deaf male dancers an opportunity to dance together and promote cultural and educational awareness through entertainment within deaf and hearing communities. It is a combination of Jazz, Funk and Hip Hop dance styles, American Sign Language, and popular music to create an uplifting and inspiring program that has won them high accolades and loyal fans throughout the world. |
The Wild Zapper received numerous awards for their outstanding works. They give educational theater and workshops at many places around the world, to those who want to communicate their feelings, ideas, stories, and shapes to the spectator, not only on stage, but in many aspects of their lives.
The Wild Zappers seeks to enrich professional arts for the deaf, especially males in the world by bringing the focus, the beauty of dance, theatre and sign language while providing an uplifting experience for the deaf and hearing.
Web Site: http://www.invisiblehands.com
TopBritish dance company: « Common Ground Sign Dance Theater Company » from Liverpool - 4 deaf dancers
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In 1986 Common Ground pioneered a style of dance performance which integrates Sign Language into choreography, creating a new art form. |
| All their work is original and organic, strongly rooted in Deaf culture yet fully accessible to those without any knowledge of Sign Language. |
In the Autumn of 2001 Common Ground underwent somewhat of a "revolution", allowing Deaf artists to take charge of the Company and its artistic direction. This has meant that their artists can now explore their natural, expressive communication in rehearsals as well as performance. This has engendered a unique creative environment which has attracted many new artists, performers and choreographers both Deaf and hearing to work with the company.
Sign Language, the language of the Deaf community, is a visual, spatial language taking shape in three dimensions in the air - this becomes the core of and inspiration for their choreography. They create unique performances through a fusion of sign language, dance, and physical theatre, or "Poetry of the Body" (the Guardian).
The company has built a strong national and international reputation and tours regularly. Alongside touring and performing Common Ground runs projects and workshops for schools, colleges, community groups, youth theatre groups etc. and also professional skills and technique development training programs.
Web site: www.signdance.com
TopChinese dance Company : « Jinang - My Brothers and Sisters Performing Art Troupe » of Jinan - 8 deaf dancers.
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This Art Troupe, founded in 1988, is made up of disabled persons to present a singing, dancing and music show. It is also one of the first local art troupes to play in the art palace of the Capital--Beijing. |
| It has taken part in the China Culture and Art Festival, the "Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons show" and other national and international culture shows during these last years. |
And it has won gold and silver prizes many times from the Chinese culture department, civil administration department and China Disabled Persons' Federation. It also organized more than 300 TV shows and special performances during recent years, visited more than 10 countries of Asia and Eroupe.
They have more than 50 blind, deaf, physically or mentally disabled performers, 4 professional art teachers, and can provide more than 100 programs.
Jinan· My Brothers and Sisters Performing Art Troupe emphasizes the local characteristics of Shandong, makes people realize the special cultural talent and self-sufficient, autonomous human dignity of "My Brothers and Sisters", and shows the wishes of the disabled to take part equally in society and enjoy happy lives.
Web site: http://www.jinandpf.org/index.asp
TopAmerican dance company: « Rathskellar - The 4 Jack », Washington D.C. - USAS - 4 deaf song-signers
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Rathskellar draws its name from the student cafe of the same name at Gallaudet University, the world's only four-year liberal arts college for the deaf, that had its heyday in the 1970s as a nightly meeting place for students from all over America as well as faraway lands. |
United by their love for deaf culture, the cafe often staged presentations of ASL poetry, mime, and the unique A-to-Z hand alphabet stories. Rathskellar commemorates the cultural vibrancy that existed within these walls.
Rathskellar was a seed of an idea in 1998 when founder Jonathan Hall Kovacs thought to showcase the raw beauty of sign language by combining it with pulsating music. A group was formed and as they rehearsed for weeks, they discovered themselves creating out of an art form that continued to stretch with their imagination, with Kovacs adding percussion, dancing, folklore, and mime to the experiment. The creation has evolved into the visual stunner that is Rathskellar today.
Altogether, Rathskellar has performed over 100 shows across the globe for audiences of all ages and all levels of exposure to sign language, and the demand continues to grow!
Web site: http://www.the4jacks.com
French dance company: « ChanDanse des Sourds » from Paris
- 10 dancers and 5/6 musicians
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Since 2002, the French dance troupe has performed at various cultural centers, associations, schools, symposiums, in France and abroad. |
It offers performances of dance, visual music (percussion), "Chansigne", as well as the theatrical arts. It is unique in France.
Its purpose is to show to a broad public that the Deaf have the capacity to be dancers or musicians and to create better quality performances, without the involvement of the hearing.
In 2005, Fanny Corderoy du Tiers, artist and president-founder of the association ChanDanse des Sourds met Étienne DOUDOU, deaf choreographer and professional dancer from Lille in France. The troupe choose him to lead this creation for the FESTIVAL OF SILENCE in July,2006.
For the first time this year, the association auditioned at a national level and the troupe now consists of 10 dancers, 4-5 percussionists and a guitarist (who will compose a musical performance and will play on stage beside the dancers). The technical team is also constituted of deaf artists.
« The idea of life on another world has always fascinated the human being.
I chose the figures of cyborgs to introduce a critical aspect of the electronic instrumentalisation (half-human being and half-robot) which could occur if this madness for automatization becomes a reality on our earth.
The topic of the 7 deadly sins, typically human vices, will unveil these beings from another planet that are so close to us ...
Through CHANDANSE des SOURDS's performance, it must be recognized by professional artists and amateurs, whether they are deaf or hearing. »
Étienne DOUDOU, deaf choreographer
Web site CDS: http://www.chandanse-sourds.org
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Russian Dance Company - « Russian Soul » In Moscow , the capital of Russia , there is a well-known Mime and Gesture Theatre, the world's first theatre for the Deaf founded in 1964. It has several various troupes which exist under the same branch of this well-known Theatre for the Deaf, |
This Russian (Moscow) dance troupe is still strong compared to other dance troupes in Russia despite the difficult times for the art of dance after the problems of the USSR. At present, this troupe has been fully blossoming .
Since 2001, the Russian Dance troupe has been named “Russian Soul". It has performed at various cultural centers, associations, and Deaf Congresses for the Russian Federation. This troupe has 10-12 deaf dancers and is skilled in a variety of styles.
Wild Zappers (USA) | Common Ground (GB) | Jinang (Chine) | Rathskellar (USA) | Chandanse (France) | Russian Soul (Russia)