Dance, Contemporary dance

Siobhan Davies Dance: Every Day

Solo dance act by Siobhan Davies focuses on the daily movements we take for granted

A table, a chair, an umbrella and a stool – ordinary objects we come across on a daily basis. But a new exhibition is asking us to look at those objects, and others, with fresh eyes. Not only that, but a live element will encourage visitors to…

Dance piece Sutra inspired by skills of Shaolin monks

Breathtaking show performed by 17 Shaolin monks and Ali Thabet

As a young boy, Ali Thabet was fascinated by Kung Fu. So it’s no surprise to hear him say that spending three months in the Shaolin Temple, with some of the finest martial artists in the world, was an ‘incredible and unique’ experience. Belgian dancer…

Ballet star Carlos Acosta moves in more contemporary direction for On Before

'I wanted to convey something that actually speaks to the audience’

He has danced with some of the most important classical ballet companies in the world, but when it came to building his own show, Carlos Acosta knew it was time for a change. Rather than showing off the high leaps he was famous for at the Royal…

Choreographer Martin Lawrance dicusses new work Madcap

The dancer has created the work for Richard Alston Dance Company

For years, the only person who created work for the Richard Alston Dance Company was Alston himself. More recently, we’ve come to expect regular contributions from talented heir apparent, Martin Lawrance, the latest of which is Madcap. Set to an…

Kate Prince, choreographer-director of ZooNation, on Some Like it Hip Hop

As anyone who’s seen her company ZooNation in action knows, Kate Prince is one of the UK’s savviest choreographer-directors. But it wasn’t easy to find the right follow-up to Into the Hoods, the company’s fairy tale-based smash hit and a bona fide hip…

Choreographer Michael Clark talks to us about his new work at Tramway

michael Clark was 13 when he moved to London. Leaving behind his family in Aberdeen to join the Royal Ballet School, he could scarcely have known what lay ahead: a brief spell at Rambert, before launching his own company to create some of the most…

Cinderella

Cartoonish vibes in choreographer Alexei Ratmansky's ultimately glorious Perrault adaptation

As with contemporary productions of Shakespeare, the measure of a fairytale ballet isn't so much the story but what you do with it. Here choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, who created the piece for the Mariinksy in 2002, has chosen to bring a cartoonish…

Bad Taste Cru - 5 questions

What are the 5 key ingredients for any hip hop theatre show? ‘Skill, depth, power, originality and, perhaps most importantly, integrity. We try to stay faithful to the fundamental elements of our dance, while expressing a strong sense of concept or…

Watch it!

Small-screen addiction writ large with dance, theatre and visual trickery

Watching too much television is bad for you. This is not a new piece of information, the psychology behind why has been well documented. But if people only created shows about new subject matters, there’d be a lot of empty stages, so we can’t really…

Anybody Waitin'?

Slapstick meets slick dance in the new production from Irish company ponydance

Who knew dance could be so funny? Presumably all those who went to ponydance’s last Fringe show, Where Did It All Go Right? The Irish troupe is known for mixing slick routines and silliness, and this follow-up certainly won’t disappoint their fans.

Irish dance company Up & Over It put a fresh spin on the Riverdance template for Fringe 2012

Appeals to both Riverdance lovers and haters

They learned the steps, won the medals, and stood in line with all the other good Riverdance boys and girls. Then one day, Suzanne Cleary and Peter Harding decided to break out from that line and do it their way, and Up & Over It was born. Taking an…

Anton Adasinsky discusses Faust adaptation Mephisto Waltz, playing at Fringe 2012

Blend of physical storytelling and clowning set to music by Liszt

If you’ve ever seen a performance by Anton Adasinsky you’ll know that Mephistopheles, the seductive demon from the Faust legend, is the role he was born to play. ‘Very often theatre critics were mentioning devilry, the infernal, even Satanism in…

Irish company ponydance return to Fringe 2012 with Anybody Waitin'?

The team follow up on their successful 2010 show Where Did It All Go Right?

In August 2010, an Edinburgh nightclub was commandeered for an entirely new use. In some ways, it was business as usual – beer was served, steps were danced and flirtations took place. Only this time, it was performers, rather than clubbers, doing the…

Strangebird Zirkus: Ornithology

The German-Scottish partnership continues to thrill, this time with birds without feathers

Ever sat in the theatre and wished you could change the channel? Well now you can, courtesy of the latest production from Edinburgh-based aerial company Strangebird Zirkus. While the visual aspect of Ornithology may remain the same (and if the…

Martin Lawrance on Dance GB

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

‘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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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…