tacet_

an immersive music-dance-performance about the paradox of silence

If acceleration is the problem, then perhaps resonance is the solution.
(Hartmut Rosa)

Music and dance meet ... silence.

tacet_ draws its driving force from the collective numbness that has enveloped us in the wake of current global crises. ‘Tacet’ in musical notation indicates ‘silence’ for the instrument or the singing voice, challenging the breathless pace of our accelerated society, a pace we have grown accustomed to. Four dancers and a cellist embark on a minimalistic journey to search for inner calmness and interpersonal connection in a noisy, increasingly dystopian world.

But can communication succeed in silence?
Does silence have a physical resonance?

This performative utopia is given artistic expression through the dance, musical movements and gestures, and the voices of the five protagonists. With its acoustically diverse possibilities and expressive range, the cello becomes the sixth performer within the international ensemble. The immersive music-dance performance counterpoints the noise of our present with fragility and explores the nuances of silence. The performance venue acts as an acoustic amplifier, creating an atmospheric resonance space for sound and silence - movement and stillness.

The audience plays an integral part of the performance. Seated right in the middle of the action, they are surrounded, permeated, and juxtaposed by what is happening on stage. At the beginning of each performance, a gathering, a "tune-in," invites the audience to sensitize their perception to their individual and common silence. Their role is central, as it is their silence that ultimately gives space to listening.

Concept, artistic direction, choreography: Eva Baumann
Dance, performance, co-creation: Aurora Bonetti, Bar Gonen, Yen Lee, Susanna Ylikoski
Musical concept, performance, cello, co-creation: Céline Papion
Music compositions: Kuba Krzewiński, Caroline Shaw, Céline Papion
Lighting design: Nadja Weber
Assistance production: Sophie Gisbertz/Pilar Murube
Scenography, costumes: Eva Baumann
Technical realisation: Nadja Weber, Gui Votteler/Alex Schmidt
Design, Layout: HuM-collective (2025)
PR: Nicola Steller (2025)
Photography: Jan Hottmann, Zoia Domaskina

Press review

“Eva Baumann gets an extraordinary amount out of silence. She turns it into a multifaceted sound and performance event.
tacet_ tells in a relaxed yet highly suspenseful story of vulnerability, consideration and mutual listening.”

(Sophie-Caroline Menges, SWR Klassik)

PREMIER

May 30th, 2025, 8 PM

Further performances
May 31st, 2025, 8 PM
June 1st, 2025, 7 PM

Kunstverein Wagenhalle
Innerer Nordbahnhof 1
70191 Stuttgarthere

Revival
September 6th, 2025, 7 PM
September 7th, 2025, 7 PM

April 24th, 2026, 8 PM Tickets via Rausgegangen Stuttgart here
April 25th, 2026, 8 PM Tickets via Rausgegangen Stuttgart here
Tickets are available from 12.-€ (concessions) and 20.-€ (standard), as well as in combination with the workshops listed below.
(Remaining) Tickets will be available at the box office as from 7.15 pm. Cash payments only.

Venue
HuMBASEpartout
Eckardshaldenweg 7
70191 Stuttgart

Further information here.

SPECIAL Workshops

As part of the revival of tacet_ in April 2026, there will be two workshops, which can be booked together with a ticket for the show (see above the ticket link at Rausgegangen Stuttgart) or individually by contacting us here

April 25th, 2026, 3.00 - 4.30 PM
Resonating Silence with Eva Baumann

Silence is perceived differently by each person and is often sought after for generating energy and inner strength. It can have a clarifying effect on the body and mind, as well as building space for creative reflection. The Resonating Silence workshop draws on this, inviting participants to listen consciously to silence. Through working with the body and the voice, individual and collective spaces of resonance open up, which we explore and create together.
Eva Baumann has been working for several years with elements from somatic yoga, the Bartenieff Fundamentals and her own body practice, which she has been combining since last year with scores from Pauline Oliveros’ ´Deep Listening´®.
The workshop is open to anyone who would like to work with the body and the voice. Please bring warm clothing, thick socks, a yoga mat and a water bottle. 
Language: German and/or English

April 26th, 2026, 3.00–5.30 pm
Cartographie Sensible with Céline Papion

What does a place sound like, and how does it feel? What memories do we associate with it?
‘Sensitive mapping’ invites participants to explore a place not through scales and coordinates, but through the subjective perception of emotions, memories, sounds and smells. Inspired by Pauline Oliveros’ practice of “Deep Listening”®, we’ll head outdoors and take the time to discover a place through all our senses. We’ll then translate our collected perceptions into a personal map on paper and share our creative experiences with one another.
No prior knowledge is required. Please bring comfortable, warm clothing and a bottle of water. The workshop begins at HuMBASEpartout and takes place mainly outdoors. Paper and pens will be provided.
Language: mainly German, English translation available.

Contribution towards costs/per workshop
18.-€ standard / 12.-€ reduced

tacet_ is a production by Cie. ZEIT/GEIST - Eva Baumann. Funded within the three-year concept funding programme of the City of Stuttgart, the Stiftung Erlebnis Kunst and the Freie Tanz- und Theaterszene Stuttgart (FTTS). In cooperation with Kunstverein Wagenhalle and with the kind support of Produktionszentrum Tanz + Performance Stuttgart and HuMBASEpartout Stuttgart. The conception of the ZEIT/GEIST trilogy was supported in 2021 by the NATIONAL PERFORMANCE NETWORK - STEPPING OUT, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media as part of the NEUSTART KULTUR initiative. Dance aid programme. Special thanks to Künstlerhaus Lukas in Ahrenshoop, the Center for Deep Listening / Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York, and BLOMST! Stuttgart.
The resumption in September 2025 was kindly supported with a travel bursary by the "Polish Culture Worldwide" programme of Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Poland.
The 2026 revival is supported by the City of Stuttgart, the Freie Tanz- & Theaterszene Stuttgart gUG and LaFT Baden-Württemberg (LaFT BW e.V.). LaFT BW e.V. is funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts. With the kind support of Produktionszentrum Tanz + Performance e.V. Stuttgart and HuMBASEpartout.