Superpower Seaweed
Superpower Seaweeds
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An immersive dance and sensory world for children aged 1–5 and their caregivers
Shimmering colours, flowing forms and gentle soundscapes invite young children and their grown-ups on a sensory journey beneath the ocean’s surface. In Superpower Seaweeds, an underwater forest unfolds onstage, living seaweed sculptures, dancing bodies, and tactile materials that sway, stretch and sparkle. It is a touching performance about play, interdependence and the quiet power of nature, created especially for our youngest audiences.
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Seaweeds are some of the most resilient, diverse and essential organisms on our planet. Imagine a seaweed meadow brought to life through movement, each performer embodying a unique species with its own special qualities. Some seaweeds change colour, some curl or expand, some glisten with crystalline textures, while others feel smooth on the outside and soft or slippery within. Together they clean the water, feed countless creatures and help support the balance of our fragile ecosystems.
Children and adults are welcomed into a gentle, highly sensory universe where dance, sound and play merge into an immersive, poetic environment. Families can move freely, explore seaweed-inspired textures, and touch the costumes and materials as they dance alongside the performers. Interactive stations invite further exploration: tasting real seaweeds, sculpting with seaweed playdough, and discovering the shapes and sensations of marine plants through touch.
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With costumes and set elements inspired by real seaweed forms, colours and rhythms, the space is designed to be soft, inviting and richly textured, a safe and enchanting world where curiosity leads the way.
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Beneath the surface lie themes of connection, adaptability and care: how nature supports us, how we can care for what is delicate, and how even the smallest organisms can have extraordinary superpowers. Superpower Seaweeds offers adults a moment of reflection and children a world of playful wonder, inviting everyone to imagine hopeful futures where humans and nature flourish together.
Video taken during 2days rehearsal, supported by Chisenhale Dance Space:
Inspiration for set-design, colours, shapes and sensory materials for children, including self-made, child-safe play-dough in the form of seaweeds.
Collaborating with costume and set designers: Baum &Leah
Inspiration for costume design and stage design (from one of their earlier works):
Tactile and sensory costumes and props that invite children to touch, feel, sense and explore.
