Reviews & features: Dance, Issue 664

120 Birds

Glamorous homage to dance gone by

What a treat this invented slice of dance history is. Inspired by the international touring of such dance legends as Anna ‘The Dying Swan’ Pavlova early in the 20th century, Liz Lea has mounted a fabulously ambitious little show for which she…

Be-Dom

Joyous fun with Portuguese drums

As the huge white screen they’ve been playing behind in silhouette collapses to reveal what appears to be a junkyard full of cavorting, hunky (and fairly well-scrubbed) crusties, the tone is set for an hour of shambolic play. Switching fairly…

Grupo Corpo - 'in Brazil dance is a way of living'

Grupo Corpo’s International Festival performance will showcase all of the dance company’s determined creative spirit, and touch on the beliefs and traditions of their native Brazil. Kelly Apter talks to choreographer, Rodrigo Pedernerias.

Meow Meow - Feline Intimate

Cabaret will never be the same

The former star of La Clique, who counts David Bowie among her fans, strips away the mystique of cabaret in this riotous postmodern deconstruction of her art. That’s literally the case when during the first few minutes of the show she’s interrupted by…

5 Questions - Frank McConnell

Frank McConnell of Plan B takes time out from performing A Wee Home From Home with musician Michael Marra, to answer our 5 Questions.

Dance Doctor Dance

Joining in with the lord of the dance

As the lights go up on PowerPoint equipment and a bespectacled, middle-aged man announcing himself as a reader in psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, you fear you’re in for a lecture rather than an hour of Fringe fun. But twinkle-toed Dr…

Rhythm Of The Drums: Song Of The Cicada

Show but no tell

The title is a little misleading: drumming is but a small part of this showcase of traditional music and dance from the minority Dong and Miao peoples of southwest China. The series of virtuoso displays, from the furious Wood Drum Dance to love…

Inside features live score from 65daysofstatic

Dance: not just for girls, okay?

Hefty, stark and at times brutally visceral, Inside, the new work by boy wonder Jean Abreu, is macho dance, its choreography built around lines of masculinity and inspired by prison movies. There are no tutus, no extraneous flounces, and, with a live…

Zambezi Express

Talented performers bring warmth to cold Fringe

Feet stomp, drums resound and mouths scat and sing to conjure a vibrant, joyful Africa through dance, percussion, a cappella vocals and acrobatics. A nominal storyline fails to hinder the packed dance card of contrasting pieces, which errs on the side…

Flawless - Chase The Dream

Streetdance – and a whole lot more

Britain’s Got Talent finalists, Flawless strive for perfection on a daily basis. And, in their slick, fast-paced streetdance routines, it’s fair to say they’ve reached their goal. Not an arm or leg is out of place, the timing is razor sharp and the…

Brazil! Brazil!

Capeoira kicks, samba hips and footie tricks

Brazil! Brazil! is like the fantasy beach party everyone wants invited to. Chilled-out Brazilian beats to rival Astrud Gilberto, buff bare-chested guys wheeling out jaw-dropping capoeira kicks and backflips, voluptuous feather-topped girls in bling…

Anatomy of Fantasy

Impressive if unfocused journey through the subconscious

Anatomy of Fantasy is an appropriately elusive title for a multi-sensory show that, while enjoyable, at times lacks focus.

Tap Ole

Tap dance meets flamenco guitar with a sprinkling of razzle dazzle

If you like your flamenco music served with fury and furrowed brow this is not the show for you. This is flamenco music with a Broadway smile: the usual simmering passions and castanets of the proud flamenca replaced with jazz arms and a volley of…

Martin Creed: Ballet Work No 1020

Oh, do try harder, disgruntled of Sadler’s Wells

Three stars. That’s what Martin Creed’s getting, although I suspect he was aiming for one, and some outrage. Three stars because there are a couple of interesting dance moments, a few good laughs, and some of the musical numbers are quite good, although…

Rhythms With Soul

Foot-stomping romp through flamenco history

On posters Venezuelan-born flamenco dancer Miguel Vargas appears smouldering and bare-chested. But unlike paparazzi-friendly contemporaries such as Joaquin Cortes he is no peacock, all baby-oil and no substance. There is strut aplenty. There is simmer…

Continent

Barton finks too much

There’s something curiously retro about this little piece, from the tight-fitting, slightly shiny suits worn by its performers to the old fashioned world of typewriters and briefcases it conjures up.

Roam

Fast-flowing contemporary dance laced with breakdance and martial arts

Tom Dale Company returns to the Fringe with a piece loosely based on the human impulse to ‘roam’. The rising choreographer presents an hour of contemporary dance that, like its title, never stops moving. There is no set or narrative. Rather Roam is…