For the past two decades, The Southbank Centre has curated a brilliant children's arts festival to liven up February half term.
The Imagine Children's Festival returns for its 22nd year from February 7 to 17 with a programme of imaginative fun for all the family, including music, storytelling, dance, crafts, comedy - half of which is free.
More than 130 events are packed into the eleven days, with activities aimed at children aged 0-11 and their grown-ups. Names taking part include author Michael Rosen, hip hop dance troupe ZooNation, Akram Khan Company, comedian Rosie Jones, children's laureate Joseph Coelho, and CBeebies favourites JoJo and Gran Gran.
Programmers want it to be as accessible as possible so there's an open attitude towards audience noise and movement, plus sensory-adapted shows, BSL-interpreted, and non-verbal performances.
Ruth Hardie, Head of Public Programming at the Southbank Centre, says: "Imagine is about children and families being creative together. Through a range of innovative performances, literature events, music and more, we work with artists to share inspiring stories and ideas and encourage children to play, imagine and express themselves. There really is something magical for everyone to discover in the programme this February half term."
Dance and performance is at the heart of the festival with highlights including gravity-defying choreography and digital projections in Starchitects: A Cosmic Adventure (15 - 17 February.
Akram Khan Company returns with a much-loved family-friendly production, of the semi-autobiographical Chotto Desh (9 - 10 February), about a boy's memories and dreams of dancing, split between Britain and Bangladesh.
Find your groove with interactive, tactile, colourful performance installation The Sticky Dance (7 - 9 February), or ZooNation's Hip Hop Half Term (11 February) featuring workshops, a DJ jam and a performance from ZooNation Youth Company.
Elsewhere The River (12 February) is Bamboozle Theatre Company’s new show for disabled children, introducing children to a range of river animals, from salmon to herons, and even mystical creatures with live music and instruments with tactile vibrations.
Music takes in underwater fun with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and JoJo and Gran Gran in CBeebies Ocean Adventure (13 February). There's also bold music and brilliant puppetry in The Instrumentals (10 - 11 February), a first participatory gig experience for little ones with The David Gibb Big Band (7 February), and a live version of hit CBeebies TV show YolanDa’s Band Jam (12 February).
Sketch comedy comes courtesy of Shelf: The Kids Show! (13 February), winners of the Best Show at The UK Kids’ Comedy Festival which includes an interactive workshop for the whole family to make their own sketches. And Rosie Jones: The Amazing Edie Eckhart (15 February) sees the TV comic tell her sparky new story about a young girl with cerebral palsy and her adventure to find new friends.
Booklovers can enjoy Amazing Bodies with Dr. Ronx (16 February) discover pacemakers, bionic limbs and more in Human 2.0 (15 February) with campaigner Patrick Kane, or meet children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho and illustrator Fiona Lumbers as they showcase their newest book Luna Loves Gardening (17 February).
Legendary performance poet John Agard is set to delight with a selection of readings from Windrush Child, and much-loved author Michael Rosen is set to tell the story of Gaston Le Dog (11 February).
The Imagine Children's Festival also boasts free events and activities including a creative zone inspired by the artist Bob and Roberta Smith’s book Art Makes People Powerful, a day of games, competition and laughter in The Intergenerational Game: Lunar New Year Edition (10 February), a day of singing and beatboxing workshops with the incredible choir Trans Voices (14 February), a dance space powered by collective and electric dance energy in Prancer the Dancer’s DanceDanceDiscoPartyFunShow (12 February), and Wellbeing Wind Down (10 - 11, 13 - 16 February), a meditative space to help families manage stress.
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