Echoing the feeling of flying through air, Skydiver is a visually compelling dance-theatre work and multisensory experience for children aged three through five and their families, running at Polka Theatre in London from May 1 – 5. Inspired by her strong interest in fantasy, storytelling and surrealism, Greek dance artist Xenia Aidonopoulou has created Skydiver, as part of the trilogy that travels from water to sky to earth, each part metaphorically exploring a different aspect of early childhood: care, play and risk-taking. The first in the trilogy, Underwater, created for babies and toddlers immersed audiences in an underwater world as an allegory of a womb. Skydiver, the second installation of the trilogy imaginatively recreates the experience of air that surrounds us in the first few years of life.
Bringing to life whimsical characters in an enchanting encounter in the skies, through movement, sound and visuals, audience will soar through the clouds with flocks of birds and butterflies to explore a dream-like world. With a movement vocabulary of flying and falling, a cinematic music score, skyline scenography and ambient lighting design, Skydiver is a performance inspired by air to captivate even the youngest of audience members. The show is commissioned by Little Big Dance, co-commissioned by Dance Umbrella and Strike a Light festivals and supported through public funding by Arts Council of England.
Aidonopoulou said, “Imagining Skydiver was like diving into a poetic world full of wonder and surprises. I really hope our audience will fly along with Skydiver and the Flock towards this faraway land and dare to immerse themselves in a fantasy adventure, a dream without limits.”
Aidonopoulou is a dance artist with a background in dance dramaturgy and performance making visually compelling dance-theatre works and collaborating with multidisciplinary artists with stories to share. Since 2002, Aidonopoulou has worked extensively in dance, for institutions including the National Theatre of Greece, Athens and Epidaurus Festival, Onassis Stegi, National Theatre of Northern Greece, Thessaloniki Concert Hall. In 2022, Aidonopoulou created Underwater, a multi-sensory dance theatre show for babies and their grown-ups. Underwater has toured extensively to great acclaim, throughout the UK including Sadler’s Wells, The Lowry, Belfast Children’s Festival, South Bank Centre, Polka Theatre, and has been also re-staged and is concurrently being presented in Athens at the Greek National Opera’s, Alternative Stage. Aidonopoulou was awarded the Little Big Dance Cycle Two Artist Commission to create and tour Skydiver. Skydiver premiered in London on 21 October as part of Dance Umbrella Festival 2023.
For more information, visit polkatheatre.com/event/skydiver.
