Enjoy in scents and colors: all the senses are stimulated at the Sencity festival

On white -lit vibration plates is danced on the size of sound vibrations. Large screens show lyrics and exuberant visuals of the live music that is being played. Sweet and spicy scents spread through the room through fans, while there spicy Chocolate bonbons go around the room. Deaf, hearing impaired and hearing visitors surrender to their senses during the 22nd edition of Sencity Festival.

In the foyer of IvoliVredenburg in Utrecht it is remarkably quiet for the hearing visitor. If you look around, you will immediately notice that there is plenty of communication through sign language. Quite handy: a visitor at the bar asks his friend about ten meters away what he wants to drink. From the balcony, another visitor with her friends on the dance floor stays in contact.

The annual Sencity festival brings art, music, culture and creativity together as a universal language for around 1,500 visitors. In the afternoon the program consists mainly of workshops such as odor art and sign language, in the evening and at night the focus is on live music. Possibilize, the organization behind the festival, strives for an inclusive experience for both deaf, hard of hearing and hearing visitors. « On Sencity, everyone is enjoying the same music together on one dance floor, » says Tim Van Reyswoud, one of the organizers of the event.

In the run -up to the festival, the artists work with a sense director to coordinate their performances for several senses. “We try to translate the stories of artists into all the senses. We look at how we can tailor colors to emotions, or we visuals Being able to add to accentuate the story, or how we can add scents and flavors for a total experience, « says Gerda Kreeft, one of the organizers of the festival.

Vibrant tonic

During a strong guitar number from Michael Ekow & May, who also play in Rotown and Paradiso later this month, bottles of bustling tonic are distributed. At the Food Jockey stand, a few matching snacks are prepared for each performance. For blueberries with a layer of sugar offer a sweet counterpart with the bitter tonic. Hundreds of bonbons in the form of red lips get a dash of caramel with a touch of chili, to the spice To boost during the song ‘Rush’ by singer Wisee.

On the other side of the stage, scents fill the room. Fresh, sweet and spicy aromas alternate quickly. Large bowls with essential oils vapores above boiling water, while fans blow the scents like soft clouds into the audience.

The artists stand together with a deaf performer On stage, which is supported by an interpreter at the front of the dance floor. That collaboration appears to be a tightly directed choreography of music, dance and sign language, which enthusiastically takes over the audience.

Jille Hartsa (22) just hangs a FaceTime conversation with a friend looking for him. Sencity Festival is a moment for him to see old acquaintances again. « The deaf community is not that big. Some I see more often on deaf football competitions and others once a year at this festival. I am hard of hearing and when I go into a hearing environment, it’s all about dancing. This is also added extra visuals, talking to each other and feeling the music, as on the vibration plate. I am away from that thing. »

Hartsa is not the only one. The large vibrating plates are so full that even a group waits around it until another place is released. The plates absorb the vibrations of live music, so that those on it feel the music throughout their body.

Scents and feelings

« The day after I have been here, I am completely broken and tired, » says visitor Nirosha Boer (39). « Not only because of all the encounters, but also because of the scents and feelings. They are intense, also because I don’t go to parties as often as before. » The festival is also an annual reunion for Boer. A little further on, she sees a group of friends walking and rushes towards them.

The festival is certain. For those who want to escape all incentives, there is an incentive -free space. Visitors in the gesture zone can also have a conversation next to the concert hall. Those who prefer the familiar aromas of cocoa or diesel, or want to smell the new scent of Ambergrijs, can go to odor artist Frank Bloem.

Every performance gets a thunderous applause in the main hall. Not by clapping your hands, but by putting them in the air and turning back and forth.

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