Reviews & features: Kelly Apter

Leigh Warren + Dancers - Breathe/Impulse

The choreographer bringing his 'group of individuals' to Edinburgh International Festival

In some dance companies you have soloists and principals, in others everybody is on the same level. But rarely are company members described as ‘a group of individual dance artists’, as they are on the Leigh Warren website. When he started his company…

Bubblewrap and Boxes turns cardboard boxes into children's show

Playing around with the post at 2011 Edinburgh Festival

As any young child will tell you, there’s no end of things you can do with a cardboard box. Melbourne-based theatre company Asking For Trouble discovered it too, when they turned a pile of unwanted boxes into packages and parcels to create award-winning…

Sergio Diaz of Ballet Preljocaj discusses the company's performances at EIF

The Edinburgh International Festival is hosting three pieces from the acclaimed French company

It’s lunchtime at Ballet Preljocaj’s headquarters in Aix en Provence, and dancer Sergio Diaz is taking a well-earned break. A few moments earlier, he and the rest of the company were rehearsing And then, one thousand years of peace, an extraordinary new…

Scamp Theatre bring Tiddler and Other Terrific Tales to life at Fringe 2012

Stage version of hugely successful Julia Donaldson children's book

With so many shows to choose from at the Fringe, it’s always handy when a tried and tested company returns carrying a guarantee of quality. All those who saw Scamp Theatre’s production of Stick Man in 2010 will be pleased to know that the talented…

The Elves and the Shoemaker

When it comes to classic tales, The Elves and the Shoemaker is high up on most people’s lists. Just picturing those little elves beavering away, creating tiny shoes, is enough to excite little ones, and send big ones down memory lane. Well you don’t…

Tiddler and Other Terrific Tales

Julia Donaldson over-kill

Scamp Theatre’s 2011 adaptation of Stick Man was a skilful blend of lively storytelling, great songs and playful actors. They did Julia Donaldson proud. So it comes as something of a disappointment to see what they’ve done with Tiddler. As you would…

Children's theatre at the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe for a fiver

2012 Edinburgh Festival offers a host of great-value kids show previews

Various venues, Edinburgh, 1–3 Aug Each year, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has more and more shows to tempt families. From theatre pieces to circus shows, you could easily spend three weeks (and a month’s salary) straddling the good-taste line…

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.

My Name is Margaret Morris

Forgotten hero dances back to life

You would think, having invented a new way of moving, married a famous artist and been the driving force behind Scottish dance for years, that people would remember you. Sadly, the name Margaret Morris is likely to prompt a ‘who?’ from most people these…

Mephisto Waltz

Derevo's surreal show of devil pact is success but lacks emotional tie-in

You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs, and it would seem you can’t make a Derevo show without making an inordinate amount of mess. By the time the five performers step forward to take their well-earned bow, the stage is littered with more…

National Folk Theatre of Ireland to perform What the Folk! at Fringe 2012

The company merge dance with storytelling in intimate locations

Based in Tralee in County Kerry, the National Folk Theatre of Ireland is keeping traditions alive, by looking to the future. Training performers in music, dance, theatre and song from a young age, it ensures there’s always a new crop of talent rising…

Revolting Rhymes

Lively rendition of Roald Dahl tales

The two performers at the helm of this manic hour may be young (one of them had just received their A Level results the day I saw them) but already they’ve honed considerable performance skills. Not only that, they’ve also amassed a considerable…

Soweto Entsha

South African songs from the heart

In 2008, Morgan, Lwazi, Jabu and Zensele were ekeing out a living, busking on the streets of Soweto. Hearing that a French producer was dining in a nearby restaurant, the a cappella singers headed down there to try and impress him. They did. Three years…

The Mozart Question

One man's moving memories

Putting a target age range on a show's publicity material never guarantees who you'll find in the audience. But when the producers of The Mozart Question say suitable for ages 8+, you really ought to listen to them - because this is not a show for…

Russia's Mariinsky Ballet bring Cinderella to Edinburgh International Festival

Five reasons why you shouldn't miss it

The company You might know them as the Kirov, but back home they’re called the Mariinsky Ballet, and this St Petersburg-based troupe is widely recognised as being one of the finest classical ballet companies in the world. The choreographer A former…

The Ugly Duckling

Kipper Tie Theatre's charming show proves beauty’s only skin deep

There are some valuable lessons to be learned in this simple yet effective show by Kipper Tie Theatre. Namely that being brave, imaginative and clever is a whole lot more important than being beautiful. Performers Bernie Byrnes and Sally Lofthouse…

Top 5 music shows for kids at Fringe 2012

Featuring The BIG Sing-a-long, Flamenco for Kids, Sesame Street and Music Bugs

The BIG Sing-a-long! Back for their third Fringe running, the BIG Project’s Children’s Choir invite you to join in with chart hits and musical mash-ups. St Mark’s artSpace, 228 1155, 4 Aug, 2pm, £6 (£4–£5). Flamenco for Kids Warm up your hands…

Circolombia bring Urban show to Edinburgh Festival

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…

Dance highlights at 2011 Edinburgh Fringe

Clips from Dance Marathon, Castle Rocks Breakdance and Enclosure 99 - Humans

Dance Marathon. Award-winning Canadian theatre collective, bluemouth inc. invite you to take part in this four-hour endurance test of a show. Strap on your number, pull on some comfy shoes and start dancing. Based on the competitions born out of…

Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company

Where Spanish and African cultures collide

With its close proximity to Africa, Spain is often seen as a gateway to a better life. Some immigrants are successful, others not, but it is their desire for greener grass, followed by a longing for home, which inspired Paco Peña’s latest show…

Stick Man brings Julia Donaldson's children's book to life

Lively adaptation hits the spot

Julia Donaldson’s 2008 picture book, Stick Man isn’t the longest tale in the world, so anyone looking to adapt it would have to cast around for some pretty extensive padding. Leave it to the formidable Scamp Theatre to do just that. Performed by…

Christos Tsiolkas' The Slap touched a few raw nerves

He tells us how he tackled this multi-story tale.

Judge me once you’ve walked a mile in my shoes, the old saying goes. Well in his latest book, The Slap, Christos Tsiolkas hands us the literary equivalent of eight pairs of walking boots. Set in suburban Melbourne, the novel opens with a chapter devoted…

Scottish Ballet

Three diverse works from our national ballet company, all of which will put these increasingly powerful dancers to the test. Reportedly his own personal favourite, Sir Frederick Ashton’s Scenes de Ballet opens the night with style and sophistication.

Tap Kids

High school hoofing

Long before Troy and Gabriella took the world by storm in High School Musical, dancer and choreographer, Lisa Hopkins was putting together her own show about the teen years. Starting life as a tap dance workshop in upstate New York, Tap Kids soon…

Kataklo Athletic Dance Theatre - Love Machines

Art-inspired precision

Nearly five hundred years after his death, the creative genius of Leonardo da Vinci continues to exert influence. Most recently on Italian company, Kataklo, who blend athletic physical dexterity with an appreciation of art. ‘I’ve always had a great…