MoreKids + Families
Awaken curiosity and joy in little ones in Wow Hoop with Mette Ylikorva, director of Vau Vanne Baby Circus. Circus games captivate and enthrall infants, while parents gain confidence in handling their infants through gentle partner acrobatic exercises. Ylikorva’s performance provides families with infants an easy way to introduce the liveliness and joy of circus into everyday life.
With no visible differentiation between the stage and the audiences, infants are gently allowed to familiarize themselves with the stage props, which are both safe and bite-resistant.
Since 2008 Ylikorva’s performance has toured child health centers, cultural centers, and children’s festivals, garnering acclaim from critics and parents alike.
About Mette Ylikorva
Baby Circus pioneer Mette Ylikorva trained as a circus instructor at the Turku University of Applied Arts in Finland and completed studies as a circus trainer for people with special needs. Since 1999 she has worked as a circus trainer and performer. Ylikorva initially became familiar with infant culture through infant word-play groups, for whom she created movement material. In 2006 she became a parent, which led to the creation of her baby circus.
Finnish psychologist Kirsti Määttänen’s dialogical baby dance –used to stimulate interaction between infants and parents – greatly aided and inspired Wow Hoop’s early phases of development. Through her research Ylikorva noticed that there is very little material about baby circus; individual circus trainers have long practiced partner acrobatics with their infants and/or held baby groups. Inspired, Ylikorva collected all the material she could and started developing various circus forms adapted for infants, with her own child in mind.
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Photo by the American-Scandinavian Foundation
FRI – 8-16-2013 – 11:00 AM
$8 (Free for ASF Members)
Ages 18 – 24 months