FLYING SUPERKIDS is coming to Bangkok as part of this year’s Bangkok’s 19th International Festival of Dance & Music. Originally hailing from Denmark, the group comprises singers, dancers, award-winning acrobats and gymnasts who combine their talents for a high-voltage, action-packed performance that has engaged audiences all over the world. Flying Superkids was founded by Uwe Godbersen in 1967, who travelled around the world as a gymnast on the National Danish Gym Team. It started with 20 girls, but soon grew to 400 members. Uwe’s concept was simple: gymnastics should not be too traditional and went about mixing in funny ideas, costumes, untraditional music and lighting. Within a few years, the best of the children started to perform all over Denmark.
The international breakthrough came in 1975, when the children performed live on German television. Soon invitations came in from all over Europe and, in 1982, the Superkids went on their first coast to coast tour of the USA. Today, Uwe has retired and the Flying Superkids are managed by his wife Lone and their sons, Lars and Svend. BKK Kids was fortunate to be able to conduct a short interview with Director/CEO Lars Holst Godbersen:
How did Flying Superkids come about?
That quite a funny story. My dad was in the national performance team, and after a tour around the world in 1967 he was headhunted by a local club to coach a team of only 20 small girls.
My dad knew nothing about coaching, but he had funny and crazy ideas. He added lights and costumes to the performances to make it less boring and more showbiz. If anybody had told him that this would bring the Flying Superkids to visit 38 countries, he would never had believed it.
How much training is required of the performers?
Only 7.5 hours per week. It’s very important for our kids that they enjoy the training, and that they love to perform. We have the philosophy that overtraining will kill the joy, but still the kids have to archive the skills that has made the Flying Superkids so famous.
Therefore all the training session are highly effective, and with a lot of coaches, so every kid get enough attention.
What is your touring schedule like?
In Denmark, our home country, the Flying Superkids are just as known as any pop star, so many performances are made touring in Denmark, where we tour with a huge tent specially build for the show. Denmark is our base, but every year we go on exiting tours. In 2017 we have visited Norway, Germany, Dubai, Malta and then of course, Thailand, which is the most exiting trip we have made for a long time.
For us it’s a great honour to perform at Bangkok’s International Festival of Dance and Music. The festival stages some of the most exclusive shows from all over the world, and we are overcome with joy over being selected to participate.
What do the performers go on to do when they grow up?
Some goes on to our National Danish Performance Team, but most of them move on to get good education, and we often get feedback that their time with the Flying Superkids has taught the self-discipline and social skills that have helped them a lot afterwards.
We don’t see ourselves as a show product, but as an educational initiative, teaching our kids, who are basically normal children, a lot of important life skills.
Is this your first time performing in Thailand or Asia?
No, we have been to Thailand and Japan before. We love to be here. The Thai are the most friendly people in the world, and we had amazing experiences with the Thai audience last time. They loved the show, and were really drawn to the joy of life that our kids express when they perform. We would love to perform in Bangkok every year…
Tickets for the Bangkok’s 19th International Festival of Dance & Music, which runs from September 11 to October 19, 2017, at the Main Hall, Thailand Culture Centre, are on sale at www.thaiticketmajor.com, hotline +662-262-3191, and at the Thai Ticket Major counters nationwide. For more information, visit www.bangkokfestivals.com or www.facebook.com/BangkoksInternationalFestivalOfDanceMusic.
Flying Superkids will be performing on Tuesday, 19 September, at 7.30 pm, and Wednesday, 20 September, at 7.30 pm. The duration is Part I: 50 mins and Part II: 40 mins, with a 20-minute intermission. Ticket options: Baht 3,000 / 2,500 / 2,000 / 1,500 / 1,000.
BKK Kids is giving away 2 tickets to see Flying Superkids on Tuesday, 19 September at 7.30 pm. Seating is selected by the event organiser, and cannot be chosen by the winner. To participate in the giveaway, please enter your details below. One winner will be selected at random once the contest ends, and then notified by e-mail. Good luck!
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