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	Samuel Avital was born in the town of Sefrou near the Atlas mountains in Morocco. In 1958, he moved to Paris to study with the masters of mime; Etienne Decroux, and Marcel Marceau. In 1971, he founded Le Centre du Silence Mime School in Boulder, Colorado. In addition to performing internationally, he also holds workshops on Mime and kinesthetic expression (BodySpeak™™, teaches privately, and hosts a bi-weekly forum of creative expression called Café-Salon Philosophique. In addition to numerous articles, Avital has published three books; "Mime Workbook" (1975) (a German edition,"Mimenspiel" was published in 1985),"Mime and Beyond: the Silent Outcry" (1985), and"The Conception Mandala: Creative Techniques for Inviting a Child into Your Life" (1992), co-authored with Mark Olsen. His life and work are also the subject of a video,"The Silent Outcry: the Life and Times of Samuel Avital."
"Samuel Avital is an artist of conscious life, conscious theater and cosmic laughter. When the madness of the world starts to get me down, I am lifted by the knowledge that men like Samuel exist. He remains unique, elusive, profound, demanding, dedicated, theatrical, passionate, and one of the most vibrant teachers I have encountered." Mark Olsen, Penn State University. "I think that Samuel's work is important. He brings awareness to the soul of people and gives the young dedicated artists who work under his direction the need, dedication, and love for the world of silence and the beautiful art of movement" "To my dear Samuel, Words will always be poor beside our silence, but they will open doors to our silent spirit." Marcel Marceau, 1976 "Mr. Avital is a remarkable man of astonishing depth and an artist of great magnitude and achievement. His profound knowledge of physical expression, teaching and performing is vast, rich and highly creative; his artistic fervor is contagious and his mastery is impeccable and practical... His method of teaching, is very well elaborated in his classic books. An inspired teacher, a magnetic, enthusiastic personality with excellent dedication and commitment." Moni Yakim, Movement Theater Director, Juilliard Drama Division, NYC. "Samuel Avital -- whom I have known since his first years with my company in Paris -- I suspected would become one of the great mimes. He has fulfilled that promise. He was among the first to reveal to me what creative interpretation could be, surpassing the creativity of the art of mime in order to become a human being who dares to be different. "This great artist has discovered an extraordinary relationship between being an artist and becoming a true teacher of his own method. Our acquaintance has brought the greatest joy and surprise to my life and art." "Of all mime pieces I created and played in Paris in the years 1960-1966, the ones which have impressed me most, are those which Samuel Avital took part in. "A strong discipline and a remarkable sense of creation put him above the rest, "I often didn't know while I was directing, who was really the director, he or me. "And it was during the period in Paris when the most searching and creative activities multiplied. "I will always remember Samuel Avital as a great artist that I had the chance to know at that time." Maximilien Decroux, Ecole Internationale de Mimodrame de Paris , Sept. 1994. "He finds new uses for old things, and makes new things with new uses. The universe does not exist for him beyond the moment, and for those who walk with him, the universe becomes new, freshly made, and ancient beyond memory. "He forms mass, makes it appear in space, moves within and around it, stirs up realities that never were, until he thought of them; reflects absurdities that no one looked at until they appeared in his mirror of life; conjures people that no one has seen because they are the self...in short, he is master of the universe, yet can be claimed by no object within it. He knows, remembers, understands, feels, senses with all his heart. "What more is there to say about a man?" E.J. Gold, 1977. "What Samuel Avital presents in this book is nothing short of a resuscitation of one's embodied life. His approach is one of a practical kinetic mysticism designed to optimize one's life." Rabbi Zalman M. Schachter Shalomi, co-author of From Age-ing to Sage-ing

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