Een Kleine Anatomie - De Dansers © Bart Grietens
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The participants create work for the very youngest audiences (0–6 years) and share a strong interest in international exchange. During the visit, they will see performances, meet international colleagues and explore new perspectives on creating and presenting work for young children. The working visit offers space for deepening, exchange and reflection on the position of Early Years work within an international context.
Judith Faas is artistic director of BonteHond, a company that creates theatre for all ages. BonteHond’s work explores emotions and themes that resonate with both children and adults. Faas is often inspired by real-life stories and social issues, which she translates into theatrical performances using music and dance.
Faas is taking part in the trip to Visione and Piacenza to meet new theatre-makers and exchange different perspectives. She hopes to gain inspiration, new ideas and collaborations, and also sees the working visit as an opportunity to give something back.
Rebecca Wijnruit is a contemporary dance maker with a growing international practice. She creates work for very young audiences, focusing on playful, embodied encounters between children and caregivers through movement and curiosity. Wijnruit is co-artistic director of dance-theatre company dt DaalRuit, where she develops performances shaped by interaction and response. Her practice connects creation, research and education, with a strong interest in embodiment, relational dynamics and participatory processes.
Wijnruit is joining this working visit to meet international makers and programmers, exchange experiences and reflect on her own practice within a broader international context.
Hannegijs Jonker is a theatre-maker and performer from Groningen and co-founder of Club Wauw, which she runs together with theatre-maker and performer Philipp Cahrpit. Club Wauw creates sensory, interactive performances for very young audiences (0–6 years), rooted in close encounters with children throughout the entire creation process. The work is shaped by the specific needs of this audience, their curiosity and their creativity.
Jonker is taking part in this working visit to meet other Early Years makers, exchange experiences and connect around the importance of this work and the often delicate contexts in which it is presented.
Yung-Tuan Ku is a music-theatre maker with a background in classical percussion, mime and object theatre. She creates non-verbal, sensory performances for young audiences, using music, movement and silence to spark curiosity and imagination. In her work, she transforms musical instruments into objects or characters and invites children to explore playfully on and beyond the stage.
Ku is joining this trip to broaden her artistic horizon, connect with international makers and exchange methods. She also looks forward to gaining new perspectives on performances for young audiences and returning with fresh inspiration to further develop inclusive theatre for every child.
Keren Levi is a choreographer and interdisciplinary maker. Through her company NeverLike, she creates work for adults and young audiences. Her practice for young children (2–6 years) explores how movement, sound, objects, play and simple technology shape perception and shared attention. Recent works include Topsy Turvy, a video dance about friendship and the magic of A4, and Balballoona, a dance and play performance about emotional messiness.
Levi is taking part in this working visit to deepen her research into performances for young children, exchange practices and learn from Italian curatorial and educational approaches.
Job Raaijmakers has been working in Dutch youth theatre since 2003, primarily as an actor and increasingly as a director for young audiences. His work focuses on physical storytelling, a clear visual language and the art of allowing a performance to move along with the natural peaks and dips in a child’s attention span.
For Raaijmakers, the working trip to Visione and Piacenza is a rare playground: meeting fellow makers, encountering diverse practices and exchanging ideas about dramaturgy and audience engagement.