Real freedom, what does it look like? How do you deal with the future if you haven't had a safe nest? Are you ready for society? And is society ready for you?
In Birds, you are drawn into the world of young people living in a youth care institution. The young talented choreographer and dancer Dalton Jansen won a Zilveren Krekel in 2022 with this performance full of dance, spoken word and music.
In the youth care institution where he grew up, the young talented choreographer and dancer Dalton Jansen often looked out the windows at the birds outside. They were free, yet they spent the whole day gathering their food. How would he himself fare if he were soon free? Would he make it out there in the outside world?
Inspired by …
Real freedom, what does it look like? How do you deal with the future if you haven't had a safe nest? Are you ready for society? And is society ready for you?
In Birds, you are drawn into the world of young people living in a youth care institution. The young talented choreographer and dancer Dalton Jansen won a Zilveren Krekel in 2022 with this performance full of dance, spoken word and music.
In the youth care institution where he grew up, the young talented choreographer and dancer Dalton Jansen often looked out the windows at the birds outside. They were free, yet they spent the whole day gathering their food. How would he himself fare if he were soon free? Would he make it out there in the outside world?
Inspired by his own past, Dalton Jansen feels the need to tell this story about the lonely journey of young people who have become stuck in their lives and society. And to show that you can fight your way out of it. Dalton Jansen: “If you live in a youth care institution, you can feel like you are an outsider. You are part of society, but you feel limited by your environment. To give up? That is never an option. Instead, you have to fight harder than others. There are always setbacks, and you have to turn them into something positive, because there is a path in life for everyone.”
From the press
''[...] a successful combination of text and movement that shows that youth care is in urgent need of revision.” (Het Parool)
''Birds is particularly successful as a straightforward testimony in theatrical form, a plea for a system that puts young people at the center. Mandatory reading for youth care providers.” (NRC)
''Intense argument about custodial youth care.” (Theaterkrant)
“Birds is an honest, raw performance about a youth in youth care.” de Volkskrant
