SKYDIVER Comes to The Lowry, Salford This Month

Echoing the feeling of flying through air, Skydiver is a visually compelling dance-theatre work and multisensory experience for children aged 3 – 5 and their families. 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.

Xenia 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.”

Xenia 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, Xenia 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 Xenia 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. Xenia was awarded the Little Big Dance Cycle Two Artist Commission to create and tour Skydiver. Skydiver premiered in London on 21st October as part of Dance Umbrella Festival 2023.

Company information

Concept & Direction Xenia Aidonopoulou

Created with Lydia Walker, (JJ) William James, Philip Hulford, Yu-Chien Cheng

Music Composition Jonny Pilcher

Costume Design Mayou Trikerioti

Puppet & ‘Clouds' Design Alison Alexander

Scenography Xenia Aidonopoulou, Alison Alexander, Mayou Trikerioti

Lighting Design Chris Burr, Xenia Aidonopoulou

Creative Producer Lia Prentaki 

Production Manager Chris Burr

Touring Production Managers Paul Barnes, Ben Moon

Costume Maker Caroline Husband

Prop Maker Mavi Curiel

Puppet Maker Amber Donovan Kahn

Cast: Lydia Walker, (JJ) William James, Philip Hulford, Yu-Chien Cheng and JORDAN AJADI

Performance Dates

15th February

Pavilion Dance South West, Westover Road Bournemouth BH1 2BU

Tues, 11:00 and 14:00

£6.00 Adults and Children | https://www.pdsw.org.uk/ | 01202203630

17th February

Norden Farm Centre for the Arts, Altwood Rd, Maidenhead SL6 4PF

Sat, 14:00

£12.00 – £10.00 (concs) | https://norden.farm/ | 01628788997

20th February

Little Big Dance Festival & Symposium

The Dance Space, 2 Market St, Circus St, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN2 9AS

Tues, 14:00

£50.00 Full festival entry | https://southeastdance.org.uk/ | 01273696844

24th February

The Lowry, Pier 8, The Quays, Salford, M50 3AZ

Sat, 13:00 and 15:00 

£9.50 | https://thelowry.com/ | 01618762000

3rd March

Cambridge Junction, Clifton Way, Cambridge, CB1 7GX

Sun, 13:30 and 15:30 

£13.50 - £9.50 (concs) | https://www.junction.co.uk/  | 01223511511

9th March

Dancin' Oxford 2024

The North Wall Arts Centre, South Parade, Summertown, Oxford, OX2 7JN

Sat, 11:00 and 14:00

£10.00 - £8.00 (concs) Under 2's Free | https://www.thenorthwall.com/ | 01865319450

16th March

Mercury Theatre, Balkerne Gate, Colchester CO1 1PT

Sat, 11:30 and 13:30

£11.50 - £10.00 (concs) | https://www.mercurytheatre.co.uk/ | 01206573948

6th April

DeDa, 19 Chapel St, Derby, DE1 3G,

Thurs, 11:00 and 14:00

£8.00 - £6.00 (consc) | https://www.deda.uk.com/ | 01332370911

1st – 5th May

Polka Theatre, 240 The Broadway, Wimbledon, London SW19 1SB

Weds – Fri, 10:15 and 13:15

Sat – Sun, 11:00 and 14:00

£14.00 - £12.00 (concs) Babe in arms £1.00 | https://polkatheatre.com/ | 0208543488

23rd – 24th May

The Garage, 14 Chapelfield North, Norwich, NR2 1NY

Thurs – Fri, 11:30 and 13:30

£11:00 - £7.50 (under 18s) Under 1s Free | https://nnfestival.org.uk/ | 01603531800

30th – 31st May

The Egg Theatre, Theatre Royal Bath, Sawclose, Bath, BA1 1ET

Thurs – Fri, 11:30 and 15:00

£10.00 | https://www.theatreroyal.org.uk/your-visit/the-egg/ | 01225823409

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