Dancing to the beat of an inner drum

It’s Saturday night at Camping Rotterdam, an outdoor theatre festival in the heart of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Scores of young people are crowded together on the dance floor, moving rhythmically. Periodically, everyone raises their hands in the air, simultaneously shouting, “Ooh ooooh!” The odd thing is, you don’t hear any music.

At this “silent disco,” only those on the dance floor wearing wireless headphones can hear the music. The system was designed to eliminate noise pollution—which is why Camping Rotterdam opted to install it. “The prospect of partying till early in the morning without disturbing any of the other camping guests seemed quite funny to us,” says Rini Biemans, founder of the festival, which lasts several days in a populated part of the city where people would otherwise be up in arms at the noise. “This is just a brilliant concept.”

The silent disco is the brainchild of Nico Okkerse and Michael Minten, party DJs for entertainment company 433FM. Since 2002 they’ve been able to get people dancing without disturbing nearby residents, after introducing the technology at De Parade, a travelling summer theatre festival that visits Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht.

The idea is catching on at street festivals and campgrounds everywhere. After organizers of the famous rock festival in Glastonbury, England, introduced the silent disco in 2005, more and more companies began supplying the technology, and musical events across the world have since featured their own silent discos.

Back at Camping Rotterdam, onlookers waiting for their turn onstage are entertained by the soundless spectacle. In moments, it will be their chance to go wild in silence.

Find out more: www.silentdisco.com