Dance and Contemporary dance

Brazil! Brazil!

Capeoira kicks, samba hips and footie tricks

8 Aug 2010

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…

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…

Nederlands Dans Theater 2

19 Jun 2008

CONTEMPORARY DANCE Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Fri 20 & Sat 21 Jun Given the enormous influence Jirí Kylián has had over Nederlands Dans Theater during the past 30 years, it should come as no surprise that even when he’s not there, his presence is felt.

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…

Gelabert Azzopardi Companyia de Dansa

Works of total theatre from Cesc Gelabert

23 Aug 2009

Catalan choreographer, Cesc Gelabert is back at the Edinburgh International Festival after a five-year absence. He’s been missed, and the two new works he delivers in this double-bill show exactly why. These are works of total theatre, where music…

5 Questions - Rosie Kay

7 Aug 2008

5 biggest influences as a choreographer: Charlie Chaplin and Fred Astaire films. Artist Otto Dix and the Weimar Republic period of German history. Merce Cunningham. Pina Bausch. My old history teacher, Philip MacKenzie, at the Royal High School. 4…

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…

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.

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…

Out of the Strong is latest work by Richard Alston Dance Company

Abstract contemporary dance, now with characterisation and Prokofiev

3 Nov 2010

For decades, Richard Alston has been one of Britain’s finest exponents of abstract contemporary dance. Now, however, it would seem he’s also rather good at telling a story. Alston first dipped his toe in narrative waters in 2009, with Scottish…

Five questions: Natalie Trewinnard of Scottish Dance Theatre

SDT's shows Drift, NQR and other Fringe dance highlights

3 Aug 2010

Give us five reasons to come and see SDT’s two Fringe shows Three contrasting works of total theatre; powerfully athletic; SDT dancers have individuality and personality; groundbreaking work; thought-provoking. Tell us four more Fringe dance shows…

Festival collaboration unites Alonzo King Lines Ballet with Zakir Hussain

EIF show fuses Indian classical music and contemporary American ballet

16 Jul 2010

Zakir Hussain was always destined for musical greatness: one look at his childhood bedtime routine will tell you that. For years he would come home from school and go straight to sleep, only to be awakened by his father at midnight to rehearse through…

Dance hitlist

23 Aug 2009

Everything Must Go, Flhip Flhop: Everything Happens on the Break, Michael Clark, Scottish Ballet, Zeitgeist

Nederlands Dans Theater 1

10 Apr 2008

CONTEMPORARY DANCE Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Fri 11 & Sat 12 Apr Although Nederlands Dans Theater’s ever-excellent youth company paid us a visit in May 2007, it’s been almost two years since principal company NDT1’s memorable, award-winning…

Scottish Dance Theatre

6 Sep 2007

In the past ten years, Scottish Dance Theatre has commissioned over 30 works, none more captivating, emotive and engaging than Liv Lorent’s Luxuria. So it’s little wonder that for its 21st anniversary tour, the Dundee-based company has chosen to…

Score

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

19 Jul 2007

Edinburgh Festival Fringe A question of sport Allan Radcliffe talks to Quentin Ogier of 2002 Fringe award-winners Au Cul du Loup about their games-themed show

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…

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…

Blaze fuses West End show and club night

Dance show set for Glasgow Theatre Royal

6 Oct 2010

Despite a history dating back over 30 years, hip hop still feels like the new kid on the dance block. Partly because it’s so fresh it could never feel old – but also because only now is it getting the recognition it deserves. Once exclusively…

Dance:Film10 brings dance on film to Edinburgh Festival

Pieces on Pina Bausch and Scottish Ballet films by Daniel Warren amongst highlights

15 Aug 2010

The Edinburgh International Film Festival may no longer coincide with the rest of the August extravaganza, but the folks at Dance:Film are doing their best to fill the slot. Small but perfectly formed, this year’s film fest features films about Scottish…

Richard Alston Dance Company

29 Oct 2009

It’s not often that Richard Alston embraces a narrative, but when he does, you know you’re in for something special – as witnessed by his excellent Carmen with Scottish Ballet earlier this year. Now, to celebrate the centenary of Sergei Diaghilev’s…

Let's Dance: Michael Clark Company

With Bowie on the soundtrack, Clark's new work is the flagship show of the EIF's dance programme

21 Aug 2009

When you’re the closest thing the dance world has to a household name, every word you say, work you create and mistake you make is documented and kept for posterity. Despite turning 47 in June, Michael Clark is still dogged by the term ‘enfant…

Edinburgh Mela

Edinburgh's most multicultural festival

30 Jul 2009

The 15th Edinburgh Mela is something of a milestone for the massive multicultural music, art, theatre and food festival celebrating Asian Scottish culture, and not just because it is returning to its original home of Pilrig Park. ‘This year, we’re…

Richard Alston Dance Company

1 Nov 2007

CONTEMPORARY DANCE Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Tue 13 Nov Music – some choreographers can’t start work without it, while for others it’s the final piece in the jigsaw. But for Martin Lawrance, dancer and choreographer with Richard Alston Dance…