Reviews & features: Dance
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Enclosure 99: Humans
18 Aug 2011
Are we human or are we dancer?
The youngest female folds her body into a knot in the corner of the Perspex-fronted cage, slipping her head into the lap of the youngest male. ‘As you can see, this one is particularly flexible,’ explains the zookeeper, wryly. ‘And this one; well, we…
Last Orders
18 Aug 2011
Contemporary retelling of cannibal tale fails to set the blood pumping
There is no end to the unpleasant images that choreographer and director Al Seed presents us with in this fetishistic modern retelling of the legend of Sawney Bean. Those familiar with the story of Scotland’s real or fictitious 16th century cannibal…
Circolombia: Urban Intimo
14 Aug 2011
Impressive circus showcase that leaves you wanting more
This colourful, multi-faceted circus skills showcase opens with allusions to the impoverished backgrounds of its cast members. The master of ceremonies crawls into the space inside a waste bucket while screens at the back of the stage show images of the…
Soy de Cuba
11 Aug 2011
Song and dance spectacular a real feel-good Fringe show
This is not so much a feel-good Fringe show as a feel-sizzling-hot-and-leave-dripping-with-sweat show. Song and dance spectacular Soy de Cuba is so full of perma-grins, saucy winks and jazzily acrobatic moves it could be a cruise ship act. But, minutes…
Pinocchio: A Fantasy of Pleasures
11 Aug 2011
Adults-only retelling is decidedly not Disney
Sometimes the spectacle is enough. The experience of watching Company XIV’s radical reinterpretation of Pinocchio is a little like gorging on gourmet food: something sensual and rich that might not offer you too much nourishment in the long run, but…
Slender Threads
11 Aug 2011
Sensitive portrayal of a woman’s experience of cancer
Chickenshed is not a company to shy away from difficult or painful subject matters. Previous shows have dealt with knife crime and the true story of a 19-year-old boy who was killed while fleeing a robbery scene. Here they lay bare a woman’s experience…
The Ballet Ruse
11 Aug 2011
Sneaking a cheeky peek at the secret lives of ballerinas
2011 has been quite a year for peeking backstage at the ballet, with the BBC documentary series The Agony and the Ecstasy and Darren Aronofsky’s thriller Black Swan. The Ballet Ruse is an altogether more irreverent look at the painstaking discipline…
Forgetting Natasha
11 Aug 2011
Multimedia memories with excellent choreography
As a poetic and artistic response to early-onset dementia, Forgetting Natasha is a well-conceived idea with some utterly beautiful moments. The writing, by Anna Mae Selby, is sharply-observed and designed to tug at the heartstrings. Multimedia…
Dot504: Mah Hunt
10 Aug 2011
Acclaimed Czech dance company bring duet to 2011 Edinburgh Fringe
DOT504 made its Fringe debut in 2008 with Holdin’ Fast, a woozy, delicate work about desire, with six young dancers tumbling and fondling under showers of glitter and old Persian carpets. The company returned by popular demand in 2009 with the darker…
Last Orders dance piece based on Sawney Bean
10 Aug 2011
Al Seed Fringe piece on 16th century Scottish cannibal
Anthony Hopkins’ quivering lips, as he extols the fava beans, Chianti and human liver combo, is one of the most disturbing yet compelling images in Silence of the Lambs. For while serial killers might be scarily fascinating, they’re ten a penny compared…
Enclosure 99 - Humans
10 Aug 2011
Janis Claxton dance piece set in Edinburgh Zoo
When Janis Claxton took up daily residence in an Edinburgh Zoo enclosure during the 2008 Fringe, she had no idea how much attention she and her fellow dancers would generate. ‘I was only doing it as an experiment,’ Claxton avows, ‘absolutely unaware…
Interview: Austin McCormick of New York dance outfit Company XIV
10 Aug 2011
Dance piece Pinocchio: A Fantasy of Pleasures at Edinburgh Fringe
Who or what inspired you to choreograph? I was inspired from an early age by the combination of mediums in Baroque performance (1600-1750); movement, scenic design, music, and costumes combine to give an audience a 360 degree experience at the theatre…
Dance Marathon
8 Aug 2011
Sweat-slicked endurance test
At three hours in, the fatigue has begun to show. As per the First Rule of Dance Marathon, we’re all still moving our feet constantly, but it’s descended to a listless, obedient shuffling. A room full of sweating strangers, inhibitions completely lost…
Korean Drum: Journey of a Soul
8 Aug 2011
Dance to the rhythm of life
Sometimes words are not required. Sometimes a single performer beating a frenetic rhythm on a drum suspended from an ornate frame is enough to raise the hairs on your arm. For those who love a bit of variety in their Fringe life, though, this showcase…
Silent
8 Aug 2011
Witty and moving portrayal of life on the streets
Shuffling across the stage under a blanket, Pat Kinevane slowly makes his way towards the audience. Peering out from underneath the dirty and torn material, glittery eye shadow adorning each lid, he starts to speak. What are we expecting him to say? A…
Uncharted Waters
8 Aug 2011
Homage to life on the waves told through aerial circus skills
The wayward charm of running away to sea is beautifully captured by aerial dance and roguish shanties, in this three-part collaboration between Strange Bird Zirkus and All or Nothing. Lucy Deacon and Jennifer Paterson lure us in with their parallels…
Rock the Ballet
7 Aug 2011
Pop-rock ballet makes for pure entertainment from Rasta Thomas’s Bad Boys
Rasta Thomas’ Bad Boys of Dance have come to town and swapped tights and Tchaikovsky for snug black trousers and an unashamed pop-rock soundtrack. New York-based ballet dancers they may be, but there’s not a whiff of neurotic Natalie Portman about them…
Fringe 2011: Five dance shows based on true-stories
29 Jul 2011
Real life events provide inspirational for several Fringe shows this year
Falling Man. Who can forget the horrific image of a man falling to his death from the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks? This haunting solo by Dundee-based dance company Smallpetitklein was inspired by the ubiquitous photos capturing the…
Circolombia bring Urban show to Edinburgh Festival
29 Jul 2011
South American acrobats and anecdotes
Their lives may have started in adversity, but when the performers of Circolombia step on stage at this year’s Fringe, it’s as fully fledged professionals. All the members of the troupe grew up on the streets of Cali in Colombia, facing a daily round of…
Interview - Muirne Bloomer and Emma O’Kane of The Ballet Ruse
29 Jul 2011
Ballerinas swap the barre for the bar
The origins of The Ballet Ruse, by seasoned Irish dancers Muirne Bloomer and Emma O’Kane, are simple. ‘In 2009 we were both single and decided to make a groundbreaking piece about dating,’ remembers Bloomer. But things took a turn in the studio. ‘We…
Agnes and Walter (A Little Love Story)
29 Jul 2011
A Walter Mitty-inspired dance performance that reclaims the power of daydreams
Poor old Walter Mitty. Since James Thurber published the Secret Life in the 1930s, his name has become synonymous with deranged fantasising. However, a newly-established dance company has decided to rescue him from the sniggers of history. ‘Something…
Dance Marathon - Edinburgh show where audience provides the action
28 Jul 2011
3-hour long participatory show inspired by They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
It’s over three hours long, inspired by that celluloid study of Depression-era desperation They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, and you, the audience, provide the majority of the action. Doesn’t sound like a great night out on the surface, but Dance…
Forgetting Natasha tackles dementia via dance and digital animation
28 Jul 2011
Multimedia and memory on the dancefloor at 2011 Edinburgh Festival
‘What would happen if you didn’t have memories?’ asks Heather Eddington, artistic director of dance film company State of Flux. ‘You would almost disappear, because essentially that’s what we base ourselves on – what we’ve done, where we’ve…
Soy de Cuba brings Havana dance, music and song
28 Jul 2011
The sound of contemporary Cuba visits 2011 Edinburgh Festival
With influences from South America, Spain and Africa dating back centuries, it’s fair to say Cuba is a melting pot of styles. So it stands to reason that the latest music and dance sensation to come out of the Caribbean island is equally diverse.
Rock the Ballet incorporates multiple dance styles
28 Jul 2011
Ballet gets a rock and pop makeover at 2011 Edinburgh Festival
If the word ballet leads you to thoughts of starched white tutus and tight buns, then Rock the Ballet is here to disabuse you of that notion. For although there will indeed be tight buns on stage, they’re considerably lower down than your average prima…
