De Stilte

De Stilte is the only professional dance company in the Southern region of The Netherlands, that focuses entirely on developing and producing performances for children. Established in 1994, De Stilte has thus far launched 24 performances and 12 special projects. Over a period of seventeen years (1994-2011) there have been 3.400 performances, attended by over 410,000 visitors. On a yearly basis De Stilte's educational activities (i.e. workshops, introductions and lessons) add up to 500. The year 2001 proved to be pivotal, when both the City council of Breda and the Province council of Noord-Brabant translated De Stilte's importance to the region into structural subsidies. January 2009 De Stilte (being the only newcomer in the field of performing arts) was admitted to the Basic Infrastructure of the Dutch Ministry of Culture, Education and Science, guaranteeing structural funding for a four year period. Based in Breda, De Stilte has two studios, one of which is fully equipped as a theatre. In 2008 alone 184 shows were realized, with a total of 26,581 youthful visitors. Education is an integrated part of De Stilte's approach. Besides its professional activities, De Stilte also offers amateur dance courses for children (4+) and adults. At the moment 157 people take lessons at De Stilte; 88 adults, 21 youngsters and 48 children. Under Jack Timmermans's artistic direction De Stilte creates multi-layered performances featuring academically trained modern dancers. These different layers guarantee accessibility to all ages. Not only does De Stilte apply its qualities to theatre visitors and school youth, it also reaches out to children less privileged. According to the vision that the imagination offers new ways for each human being, every child needs to see, hear and feel the magic of the unknown. Every step from imitation to imagination means a leap towards the great unknown.