“Astonishing, virtuosic, amazing!” – Dresdner Morgenpost
In December 2023, Pilobolus embarked on an ambitious Winter Tour to bring Shadowland to German audiences. The company traversed the country through January 2024, performing a total of 45 shows with stops in Munich, Bremen, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Baden Baden, Dresden, and Stuttgart to critical acclaim:
“Their magic has remained. Romantic dance scenes with many lifts in the foreground alternate with what makes the show so special. Behind two screens of different sizes, the flexible performers create black figures, animals and plants in sophisticated pantomime and harmonious interplay." – Frankfurter Neue Presse
“Modern dance theatre, graceful, powerful, perfect in form and with captivating choreography.“ – Kreiszeitung
“This is how the shadow theater in “Shadowland” works […] The unique mixture of athletic modern dance, ballet elegance, traditional shadow theater and sophisticated lighting technology thrilled the audience.” – Badische Neueste Nachrichten
“This piece [Shadowland] focuses on change, from illusion to reality, from girl to woman, from shadow play to dance. It is an ambitious performance with fascinating shadow acrobatics and modern dance elements, which the dancers master with aplomb." – Abendzeitung
“The countless visual surprises provide 75 minutes of suspense […] charming.“ - Weser-Kurier
“It's not too difficult to be carried away by this production. There is applause in between scenes and huge applause at the end [...] altogether incredibly fascinating.“ – Flensburger Tageblatt
“The best thing is simply to let yourself go and immerse yourself in the fairytale world [...] An evening that is as poetic as it is entertaining, with which the ensemble counters the omnipresent digital sensory overload with simply the best handmade theatre magic. With a finale that once again serves up a fast-paced best-of the show, after which there is really only one wish left unfulfilled: for an encore as soon as possible.” – Muenchner Merkur
“Playing with the imagination only works if the movements are precise - and the athletic actors of the Pilobolus Dance Theater have this down to a tee. In addition to the apparent weightlessness, there is a lightness that lends this interplay of shadowy forces a poetry that is characteristic of great art.” – Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten
“Fascinating shadow play!” – Dresdner Morgenpost
“The silent concentration of the dancers, their precision, the transformation of their performance into shadow images is no less fascinating than the poetic dream in black and white; both become an homage to the imagination.” – Stuttgarter Nachrichten
“In artistic terms, this is no slick mainstream, but rather quite weird art that is aware of its proximity to sideshow and circus - and also exhibits this in an elaborate revue scene.“ - Hamburger Abendblatt