Underwater

Alternative Stage founding donor

After a series of sold-out performances in October 2022 and February / March 2023, the enchanting dance theatre show for babies and their parents Underwater, created by mothers and artists Xenia Aidonopoulou and Georgia Tegou, continues its successful journey on the GNO Alternative Stage. Underwater returns to offer a dreamlike escape under the sea for a third cycle of performances.

A multi-sensory show, created with care and consideration for the precious experience of a baby’s first show by a distinguished Greek-British creative team, Underwater is sure to engage and stimulate your baby’s imagination and to offer a magical memory-making and bonding time for all kinds of families. Extra performances will be added in February and March 2023.

In this short show, which is a co-production of the GNO Alternative Stage, babies aged a few months to two years old along with their adult caretakers are taken on a magical journey into the deep blue sea, full of colours and innumerable bubbles, seated in a circle of family islands onstage.

Underwater vividly brings to life the journey of a ballerina as she wakes from a dreamy sleep and finds herself in the ocean, a comforting world of blue lights and bubbles. As she explores her gorgeous new home, she meets an octopus – and the pair quickly form a loving friendship beneath the waves, dancing a duet to a twinkling soundtrack that features some familiar melodies…

Xenia Aidonopoulou notes about the show: “Underwater is a dance theatre show for infants and their adult caretakers, designed by Georgia Tegou and me in London between 2021 and 2022, in co-production with the Greek National Opera Alternative Stage. It has already been presented and still continues its tour to many leading organisations and festivals in Great Britain, including Sadler’s Wells, Egg Theatre, Belfast Children’s Festival, Lowry, and Polka Theatre.

Underwater is an attempt to return to the wonderful world of the senses that is dominated by sounds and colours, movement and stillness, bubbles and twinkles. We invite very young and grown-up audiences to follow the ballerina on her magical journey and wake up next to her in the dreamlike world of the deep blue sea, a world full of surprises and enchanting adventures”.

The music is by Jeph Vagner, the costumes by Mayou Trikerioti, the lighting by Ed Saunders and Alison Alexander is the puppet consultant. Eleftheria Agapaki, Margarita Kostoglou and Alexandra Rogovska alternate in the role of the ballerina.

The production is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) [www.SNF.org] to enhance the Greek National Opera’s artistic outreach.