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At the South Pole, it is better to be a penguin than a human being

Around the show Ice Palace has caused a stir. During a tryout, teachers from an Islamic school objected to a particular scene. Culture Press will dig deeper into the social problem behind this and will come out with a report shortly. But first, an impression of the performance itself.

The South Pole does not score high with holidaymakers. But maybe that will change, if at least many children Ice Palace (6+) from youth dance group plan d- see. Renamed 'd-travels' for the occasion, plan d- proposes an adventurous trip. It takes the dancer/tour leader with his billboard some effort to get people excited about it, but soon they are there: four dancers are going with him.

photo Leo van Velzen

Cracking icebergs

'd-reizen' has a triangle as its logo. This makes sense. The three ice floes on stage, when pushed together, appear to form just such a triangle. A tall iceberg it is. Exciting. To dream of during the disco on the boat afterwards. Do the travellers see the icebergs, passing by on the backdrop? There are more and more of them. Icebergs, it turns out, can crack and crack dangerously.

photo Leo van Velzen

Disco on the boat

It is beautiful, the way the iceberg starts to coincide with the animated images on the backdrop. Those images make you feel like you are on a grand journey into an increasingly dark space. After all, it is winter at the South Pole. Not exactly tourist season. The travellers are cold. How disappointing! They seek shelter. Between the cracks in the mountain, they enter the polar region.

photo Leo van Velzen

Penguin passes

In that harsh cold, it is better to be a penguin than a human. So that's what the travellers become. There they are, walking and dancing with their footsteps rocking back and forth, their fluttering 'arms' and waving heads. A little bothered by the cold anyway, but it helps if they stand close together. How wonderful those penguin moves are. The dancers perform them beautifully. It makes you want to join in.

photo Leo van Velzen

Love Dance

Stumbling endlessly like this across the deserted snowfields, the longing for love does get the better of you. The sparks fly. Wonderful, that love ritual, and then the dance of perfect happiness. The sky seems to get hot from it. It is truly touching and romantic. And so sweet. Penguins are like people, you randomly think.

photo Leo van Velzen

Heartwarming

You can tell from the dancers that they enjoy getting into the skin of a penguin. The animated images are not only beautiful to look at, with their bright simple figures. They take you into a world you can only marvel at. Whether you are a child or an adult.

It is heartwarming the way choreographer Andreas Denk and his dancers take you on this fantasy journey.

Good to know
Information on playing dates can be found on the website of plan d-

Maarten Baanders

Free-lance arts journalist Leidsch Dagblad. Until June 2012 employee Marketing and PR at the LAKtheater in Leiden.View Author posts

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