smile

An inclusive dance project in the frame of Dance for Good! and an initiative of the Mercedes-Benz Bank

The contemporary dance piece smile stands for encounter in a time marked by fast pace and alienation. Encounter that not only wants to awaken joy, but also underlines the importance of diversity.

"It is a time in which differences do not matter. In these days happiness is colourful".

What are the small and big moments, the memories that put a smile on our faces? And what can this smile do in turn? People from different cultures and age groups, with different abilities and characteristics, present these and similar questions in dance, language and music. They give insights into their personal experiences and use them to create their very own answers to the question of happiness.
smile is not just a piece, it can be anyone and everything: a moment, an encounter, a place of refuge, a special ability, the best memory of a life or even a creature born with an extra portion of smile.

"Smiling through difficult times can be the very thing that saves us. Like a superpower that we all possess."

From October 2018 to March 2019, forty different people worked together on a dance piece at the Theaterhaus Stuttgart. Under the direction of William Sánchez H. and Timo Gmeiner, directors of the inclusive dance company SZENE 2WEI, a piece was created that brings people with and without disabilities together. The group was supported by dancers from the SZENE 2WEI ensemble.

A cooperation of the Theaterhaus Stuttgart with SZENE 2WEI and Christopherus Lebens- und Arbeitsgemeinschaft Welzheim.

Cast

Dance: Deborah Heim, Isabel Wamig, Jörg Beese, Kathrina Wilke, Leonie Howar, Matthieu Bergmiller, Ricarda Noetzel, Timo Gmeiner
Choreography & Artistic Direction: William Sánchez H.
Musical Direction: Isabel Wamig
Bodywork & Pedagogical Direction: Timo Gmeiner
Stage Texts and Interviews: Kristina van Kempen
Project Management Theaterhaus: Jakob Dambacher-Walesch & Barbara Putzhammer
Choreographic Assistant: Carmen Scarano