Catching rhythms: beating sticks, clapping hands, tapping feet and rapping mouths... What can you say with very few words, mainly using your hands and feet? Quite a lot, to judge from the youth performance Met Handen en Voeten. People from different countries all over the globe may not speak the same language, but they can find ways of communicating with one another. In Dutch they call that communicating ‘met handen en voeten’ (with hands and feet). This can lead to unusual meetings between people but also to confrontations - a mixture of joy and anger, recognition and sadness.

This performance builds on the idea of communicating with your hands and feet, and illustrates both the good sides and the risks of group feeling. How do different groups interact with one another? And how do you behave as member of a group? Do you go along with the crowd, or do you dare to make your own choices and show who you really are? Do you dare to speak out? Met Handen en Voeten shows how important it is to keep on thinking independently and how difficult it can be not to be dragged along by the group spirit.

Adaptation: Desiree Rebel
Choreographers:  Glenn van der Hoff, Desiree Rebel, Armin Dorn, Daniel Sandu, Gregory Vuyani Maqoma, Armando Navarro, Christopher Metherell, Hans Minnaert and David Holt
Music: Floor Minnaert and Arend Niks
Originally developed and directed: Maurits van Geel, Brigitta Hauer and Karel de Rooij
World premiere: 2 March 2010, De Meervaart, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Premiere this version: 23 September 2011, Stadsschouwburg, Haarlem, The Netherlands