OH SUIVANT!, BRING IT!, Spiegeltent and More Set for Arts Centre Melbourne’s 2013 Families & Youth Program

Tickets are now on sale for Arts Centre Melbourne's much anticipated 2013 Families & Youth program. With an international selection of the world's leading innovators in children's entertainment, home-grown creations by Australia's favourite family-friendly theatre companies and some rhyme-bustin' hip hop for good measure – there is something for the whole family in 2013.

The best in international kids' entertainment kicks off this January as part of Arts Centre Melbourne's Summer Season with the arrival of Belgium's Oh Suivant! and Germany's Leo. Oh Suivant! is a thrilling show of acrobatics, balancing tricks and juggling from Belgian street performers D'Irque and Fien. Leo is an experiment in optical illusions: through the clever use of video projection, actor Tobias Wegner dances up the walls, floats to the ceiling and even – with the use of animation – swims with a whale in a big, blue ocean.

Bigger kids can pop-and-lock to Blaze The Show – a sensational streetdance production direct from London's West End. Mixing nightclub vibes with the high energy of a music gig, Blaze The Show features the best dancers and breakers performing to a soundtrack of Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Kanye West, David Guetta and Snoop Dogg.

Alongside Blaze, will be Bring It! – a festival of free public programs which will enliven Hamer Hall's public spaces with music, dance, street art and performances curated by young, local artists. Activities include pop-up jam sessions, a mixtape competition and stencil art workshops.

Kids and families can also help construct and decorate a Big Horse. Artist Amanda King will design a four metre-tall horse which will then be covered by flowers created in free workshops by families.

Summer is rounded out with the arrival of The Famous Spiegeltent, which – by day – is a hub for children's entertainment. Sunday mornings is purely kids' fare with a swag of music events featuring local and international acts including Holly Throsby, London Klezmer Quartet, and The Mighty bUZZniks. Commissioned by Arts Centre Melbourne as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Super Speedy Sound Shed is a live radio play adventure where the audience and performers create and explore the crazy world of sound effects.

Also part of the Melbourne International Comedy in April is the hilarious home-grown comedy School Dance by Adelaide's Windmill Theatre, which is an 80s-inspired show that follows three nerdy teenagers to their first school dance. Scotland's Puppet State Theatre brings the heartwarming The Man Who Planted Trees, which shows us the difference one man (and his dog!) can make to the world.

Arts Centre Melbourne's inaugural Winter Season beckons youngsters with Swiss production, .h.g., an imaginative, walk-through re-telling of The Brothers Grimm's Hansel and Gretel. Germany's Thalias Kompagnons' production of The Steadfast Tin Soldier is a picture book come to life in which a painter illustrates Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy tales using brightly colour paint.

2013 Families & Youth brochure will be in foyers, cafes and bookstores in January. Pick up your copy to keep up to date with everything family-friendly at Arts Centre Melbourne or discover Families & Youth online.

For more details pick up a copy of the 2013 Program Highlights brochure from Arts Centre Melbourne venues, read it online at artscentremelbourne.com.au or phone 1300 182 183. Become a fan of Arts Centre Melbourne on Facebook or follow @artscentremelb on Twitter.