Contemporary dance

Martin Lawrance on Dance GB

The Scottish Ballet choreographer will share a bill with English and Welsh national dance companies

15 May 2012

‘Am I allowed to swear?’ asks Martin Lawrance politely, before going on to describe how he felt when Scottish Ballet first knocked at his door. Suffice to say, he was a little nervous. A dancer with Richard Alston Dance Company for many years…

Danza Contemporanea De Cuba tours UK

Exceptional Cuban dance company with European influence

18 Apr 2012

Watching Danza Contemporanea de Cuba on stage, you quickly start to form an opinion. Full of energy, dressed in colourful costumes, these talented dancers are here purely to entertain. But keep watching, and new sides to the company start to emerge. In…

Interview: Trisha Brown - choreographer

Influential figure in American postmodern dance heads for Glasgow

17 Apr 2012

As one of the most influential figures in American postmodern dance heads for Glasgow, we find out what lies behind the creative force that is Trisha Brown What made you want to be a choreographer? The foundations for living a creative life were laid…

Nederlands Dans Theater 2

Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman discusses his playful new piece, Cacti

9 Mar 2012

Watching a piece of modern dance often provokes an irresistible urge to analyse it. Unlike narrative ballet, there’s no story, so viewers can be left wondering ‘what does it all mean?’ More often than not, the answer to that question is ‘whatever you…

Choreographer Bawren Tavaziva talks Sensual Africa

The dancer's new performance explores African tribal rituals with contemporary dance

3 Feb 2012

Born in rural Zimbabwe, Bawren Tavaziva was well aware of the tribes living in his area. But having moved to bustling capital Harare at the age of four, he soon became more concerned with football, Michael Jackson and martial arts movies, before moving…

Loic Lalande and Tom Pritchard Double Bill

Contemporary dancer Tom Pritchard discusses the stress and excitement of performing new works

19 Dec 2011

The idea of dancing alone on stage is, for most of us, the stuff of stress dreams. For Tom Pritchard, however, leaving out the advance planning, choreography and a soundtrack is the most exciting way to perform. ‘It’s very raw and present,’ he says…

Company Chordelia introduces us to the beautiful-but-dark dance piece Miranda

Chordelia's artistic director Kally Lloyd Jones discusses the production

21 Oct 2011

If you find yourself slightly puzzled at the start of Miranda, the new show from Company Chordelia, then don’t worry – the lead character is, too. ‘Miranda is lost,’ explains the company’s artistic director, Kally Lloyd Jones. ‘She’s been at a party…

Rambert Dance Company's Seven for a Secret

Composer Stephen McNeff reworks Ravel score for new production

21 Oct 2011

He’s one of Britain’s finest opera composers, garnering awards and commissions at home and abroad. Yet even Stephen McNeff had a moment of trepidation when it came to re-arranging the work of one of his heroes. Choreographed by Rambert’s artistic…

Wayne McGregor / Random Dance - Far

The choreographer discusses his latest work, Far, which is inspired by the Age of Enlightenment

19 Sep 2011

While it’s true that behind every piece of dance lies hours of thought, few choreographers can lay claim to quite the mental heavy work of Wayne McGregor. In recent years, his exploration into the world of cognitive science has helped generate a large…

Rock the Ballet

Pop-rock ballet makes for pure entertainment from Rasta Thomas’s Bad Boys

7 Aug 2011

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…

Interview - Muirne Bloomer and Emma O’Kane of The Ballet Ruse

Ballerinas swap the barre for the bar

29 Jul 2011

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…

Soy de Cuba brings Havana dance, music and song

The sound of contemporary Cuba visits 2011 Edinburgh Festival

28 Jul 2011

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

Ballet gets a rock and pop makeover at 2011 Edinburgh Festival

28 Jul 2011

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…

Project Y

Annual summer programme by contemporary youth dance company Y Dance

22 Jul 2011

From the Shetland Islands down to the Borders, the prospect of spending a summer with Project Y entices young dancers from all quarters of Scotland. Now in its sixth year, this unique programme, run by Y Dance, gives 16-21-year-olds a chance to work…

Brazilian dance highlights at Edinburgh 2011

Now and at the Time of Our Turn, Parallel Memories, My Voluntary Punishments and Another Cappadocia

20 Jul 2011

Long known for its rich dance tradition, Kelly Apter finds Brazil’s contemporary dance companies responding to all aspects of the country’s diverse culture

Siobhan Davies Dance: Rotor

Experimental cross-artform dance from nine commissioned artists

15 Jun 2011

‘I hate the word inspiration,’ says Siobhan Davies. Which may seem ironic, given how inspirational she has been to budding young dancers and choreographers over the years. But for Davies, inspiration implies a light bulb moment, when something just…

Tom Pritchard: As Yet Untitled

The Arches' associate artist-in-residence looks forward to a new improvisational collaboration

27 May 2011

For most performers it’s the stuff of nightmares – finding yourself centre stage with no knowledge of script or steps. For dancer and choreographer Tom Pritchard, however, it’s the ideal scenario. Currently associate artist at The Arches, Pritchard is…

Preview - Compagni S'Poart: Na Grani

French choreographer Mickaël Le Mer to present his latest work at Glasgow's Tramway

25 Apr 2011

One of the dance world’s many attributes is its ability to cross the language barrier unscathed. Dancers let their bodies, rather than their mouths, do the talking – a form of communication that needs no translation. Instead, dance has its own language…

Barrowland Ballet: A Conversation with Carmel

13 Apr 2011

Family gatherings – for some they’re the highlight of the year, for others they need a health warning. Inspired by her own get togethers, and those of others, choreographer Natasha Gilmore has co-created A Conversation with Carmel, a birthday bash for a…

Choreographer Richard Alston takes part in our Q&A ahead of his appearance at Glasgow's Theatre Royal

13 Apr 2011

Richard Alston Dance Company will be in Glasgow this May, performing Alston's 1990 work Rough Cut alongside the Hoagy Carmichael-inspired Shuffle it Right and the Prokofiev-inspired Out of the Strong. He answers some of our questions on his work.

Profile: Choreographer Claire Cunningham

ME(Mobile/Evolution) is a double bill of two separate pieces

21 Mar 2011

What made you want to be a choreographer? I didn’t. It’s happened by accident! As I began to work in movement, images began to occur to me that I wanted to create, or ideas about trying new ways of using the crutches, or an unusual balance kept…

Flawless: Chase the Dream expands dance routine to hour long show

Britain’s Got Talent finalist on UK tour

21 Mar 2011

In 2010, streetdance troupe Flawless went from 100m athletics to marathon men. Prior to their Edinburgh Festival Fringe show, Chase the Dream, they had only ever performed short sharp routines, in competitions, on the dance circuit and, of course, on…

Choreographer Janis Claxton on Humanimalia

An interview with the Australian choreographer

9 Mar 2011

What made you want to be a choreographer? I grew up running wild in the Australian bush and I was always dancing barefoot outdoors. I guess it was that connection with the wilderness and the land along with a need for emotional and creative release…

Contemporary dance festival New Territories 2011

Artistic director Nikki Milican talks us through the highlights

4 Mar 2011

As the New Territories festival continues apace, we asked artistic director Nikki Milican to take us on a whistle-stop tour of the main stage dance productions. First up is a double-bill from Louise Lecavalier, a former dancer with Canadian outfit…

Ailey 2 company carries an explosive amount of youthful vigour

American dance company set for King's Theatre, Glasgow

11 Feb 2011

When Alvin Ailey died in 1989, he left behind an incredible legacy. Not only had he created a remarkable body of works, and a company – Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – to perform them, but he had also looked to the future. As dancers mature and…