Wonderland Project is the only project of its kind in the world. Children who begin seated in the audience are invited to actively participate in the show. The choreographic concept has been developed to stimulate and release the young viewers’ natural expression as well as to enable their individual explorations of movement and unrestrained activity. The artists who share the stage with the young audience members wish to provide them with conditions to build their own world in which they can play with movement. This is also a unique experience for parents who can see their children in a completely new situation as they progress from viewer to creator. In “Wonderland Project” the Dutch artists aim at developing an alternative to the common forms of entertainment and focus on children’s creativity. Hence they oppose the regarding of children as passive art consumers.
The “Wonderland” method is based on the opening of all the artists’ senses to children, on the ability to capture the feeling of this special encounter and on releasing reciprocal spontaneity. The sharing of their emotions with children is an impulse to improvise the subsequent dance and music sequences. The artists develop their own movements in ways that provide the children with as many chances as possible to surpass the limits of the world they are creating. This is aimed at stimulating the children’s physical activity, their perception of the world with their bodies and their eagerness to play.
The “Wonderland Workshop” is a family proposal. Japanese choreographer Makiko Ono, the “Wonderland Project” curator, as well as the musicians and dancers taking part in the show, invite children aged from 3 to 6 years and their parents to play with dance and movement, to discover new possibilities of spending time together through physical activity and to get to know one another in completely new circumstances. To end the workshops the artists and project participants will create a small show together to which the families can invite their own guests.