Dance, Contemporary Dance

Matthew Bourne's Dorian Gray

Effective storytelling makes for an adaptation with impact

29 Aug 2008

In the closing moments of Dorian Gray, a bright light shines out into the audience, temporarily blinding us. Something most people aren't used to, but those who spend their life in the spotlight are all too familiar with. It's this -- the trappings of…

Arirang Party

Mighty percussion and dance

27 Aug 2008

Arirang Party turns the volume up to a level that would definitely disturb the neighbours. It’s a shame that much of the mighty din comes from a recorded soundtrack, albeit an often beautiful and curvaceous one that emits Andean and Celtic vibes.

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…

A Night at the Movies

Classic scenes from the silver screen

7 Aug 2008

Golden moments from classic Hollywood films are the inspiration for this patchy production from US choreographers Gallimaufrey & Greene. While the intention is to provide an accessible entry point for theatregoers who are less familiar with contemporary…

Damned Beautiful

Dorian Gray does discordancy

7 Aug 2008

One of many pieces pivoting on The Picture of Dorian Gray at this year’s Fringe, this duet pares down the complexities of Wilde’s novel to focus on the obsessive sexual relationship between Basil Hallward and his beautiful boy. There is some beautiful…

Flamenco, Flamenco!

Spanish flavour at the Fringe

7 Aug 2008

While they have a shared heritage, these two shows take radically different approaches to Spain’s national dance. Ricardo Garcia’s Flamenco, Flamenco! features four virtuosos, with the emphasis as much on music as on dancing. Ricardo’s acoustic…

Holdin' Fast

The mathematics of sexuality

7 Aug 2008

As we file into the UK debut by the Czech Republic’s only professional contemporary dance company, we’re confronted by the body of a young man, draped over a blackboard covered in mathematical equations. Upstage, under a half-raised curtain, running…

Nycht-Hemeron

Poetry and motion

7 Aug 2008

Despite Outside In’s good intentions – they help young performers gain experience – neither the bland choreography nor the mediocre dancers’ technique rescues Nycht-Hemeron from its difficult early morning slot. Putatively exploring the passage of a…

State of Matter

Breakdance/contemporary fusion hits the spot

7 Aug 2008

Following last year’s pattern of hip hop informed acrobatics, ragged yet stunning male ensemble dancing and spectacular solos, 2FaCeD DaNcE Company has tightened up its structure and enhanced the showmanship. It remains a forceful display of masculine…

The Judgment of Paris

Can Can, corsets and high camp

7 Aug 2008

With sculpted, Harlow-platinum wigs, gorgeously gilded corsetry and tongues in cheeks firmly set to ‘high camp’, this riotous piece of dance theatre by Company XIV merges Baroque dance forms, Can Can and contemporary ballet to music by Offenbach and…

Todos Los Gatos Son Pardos

7 Aug 2008

Arrieritos are aiming for a different audience with Todos Los Gatos Son Pardos. Through six ensemble dances by six choreographers, it meditates on friendship, passion and bravura by adapting flamenco’s signature movements and atmosphere. Elements of…

Comedy Shuffle - New Art Club

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

22 Jul 2008

New Art Club are aiming to stretch beyond their usual crowd by injecting some daftness into dance. Kelly Apter finds out how steps and stand-up can go hand in hand.

The Judgment of Paris

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

22 Jul 2008

Brigitte Bardot, Marlene Dietrich, Helen of Troy, Marilyn Monroe: icons each and every one of them, all famed for their beauty. For the Fringe debut of Brooklyn dance team Company XIV, artistic director Austin McCormick plans to lay on a paean to the…

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.

The Curve Foundation 10th Anniversary Gala

8 May 2008

CONTEMPORARY DANCE King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Tue 20 May ‘I thought if I were to have a party to celebrate ten years of the Curve Foundation, who would I invite?’ says Ross Cooper, artistic director of Curve Foundation. ‘Who has been relative to our…

Myth

10 Apr 2008

DANCE Tramway, Glasgow, Thu 17–Sat 19 Apr According to Jung, the self is only created when the conscious and the unconscious unite, and a failure to embrace our unconscious brings on fragmented turmoil. It’s this notion of ‘finding a balance within…

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…

Edinburgh International Festival programme unveiled

2 Apr 2008

This year’s Edinburgh International Festival will take the changes and challenges facing contemporary Europe as its theme, it was announced today. Highlights of the programme include the world premiere of Matthew Bourne’s new dance work ‘Dorian…

The Blank Album

13 Mar 2008

As all musicians know, putting together an album isn’t just about writing songs. Running order, track length and variety of sound all come into play. So when choreographer, Natasha Gilmore decided to use the album model to create her latest dance piece…

Uprising/In Your Rooms

13 Mar 2008

Hofesh Schechter’s work, here seen in two new pieces, has set the contemporary dance world alight. In this programme, among other themes, ideas about masculinity and family are explored. Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Sat 22 Mar

Scottish Dance Theatre

28 Feb 2008

CONTEMPORARY DANCE Glasgow Theatre Royal, Thu 28–Fri 29 Feb When dance works – and I mean really works – it’s not your eyes that tell you, but your heart. And that rush of adrenalin. Needless to say, it doesn’t happen very often – but with Liv Lorent…

The Visible Men

14 Feb 2008

NEW WORK Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Sat 16 Feb Contemporary dance and comedy double act are two concepts that aren’t usually found in the same sentence. The two genres appear to attract such widely different types of audiences, and philosophies that…

Scottish Dance Theatre

14 Feb 2008

CONTEMPORARY DANCE Dundee Rep, Thu 21–Sat 23 Feb, then touring. When dance and music come together, it’s usually a fusion of creative sources – a symbiotic partnership of composer and choreographer. But when artistic director, Janet Smith commissioned…

La La La Human Steps: Amjad

31 Jan 2008

MODERN BALLET They say a picture tells a thousand words, and the poster for La La La Human Steps’ latest show pretty much tells you all you need to know. Standing 20ft tall, male dancer Dominic Santia is wearing a sharp black suit and pointe shoes.

Play Ball

17 Jan 2008

CONTEMPORARY DANCE Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Sat 26 Jan Nina Rajarani is not afraid to mix things up. In her latest show, the London-based choreographer has merged a typically female Indian dance style with two largely male domains: the…