Dance

5 reasons not to miss Michael Clark Company

Choreographer brings re-jigged version of Bowie-influenced work come, been and gone to Tramway

Because the way you feel after watching Clark and his choreography could be bottled and sold. When he’s good, his work reminds you just how powerful, entertaining and exciting dance can be. An earlier version of his new work, come, been and gone…

Wim Wenders' dance documentary Pina

An exploration of the life and works of late choreographer Pina Bausch

(U) 103min Filmmaker Wim Wenders had a big problem: in 2009 his long-time friend and colleague Pina Bausch died suddenly, just days before they were to begin the rehearsal shoot for a new 3D film about her and the work she’d been making for 35 years…

Edinburgh International Festival 2011 programme keeps an eye on the East

National Ballet of China, Ravi Shankar, Philip Glass among highlights

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra raise the curtain of the 2011 Edinburgh International Festival in style this year with a performance Robert Schumann’s exotic musical Das Paradies und die Peri, one highlight from an EIF programme that boasts acts from…

New Scottish Ballet production Alice promises quirky vision

Sophie Martin leads Ashley Page-choreographed show

Her career at Scottish Ballet reads like a little girl’s daydream. Marie in the Nutcracker, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, and the ultimate rags to riches heroine in Cinderella – Sophie Martin has played them all. And that’s before we even get to her…

Profile: Choreographer Claire Cunningham

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

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…

Shaun the Sheep goes solo in Shaun's Big Show

Author David Wood helps transition from screen to stage

There’s no higher accolade for a character, then to get your own spin-off. Cheers led to Frasier, Friends to Joey, and Family Guy gave birth to The Cleveland Show. But who would have thought, when A Close Shave premiered in 1995, that a skinny legged…

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

Britain’s Got Talent finalist on UK tour

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…

Chouf Ouchouf, Zimmermann & de Perrot

Fusion of traditional and contemporary technique and design for over 7s

The Groupe Acrobatique de Tanger are bringing a slice of Morocco to Stirling this month – perfect for those who need to be reminded of life beyond wellies and overcoats. While there is no story to follow in the traditional sense in Chouf Ouchouf, each…

Choreographer Janis Claxton on Humanimalia

An interview with the Australian choreographer

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

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…

Northern Ballet production of Cleopatra tours UK

A preview of the new dance production from the acclaimed company

From Peter Pan to Dangerous Liaisons, Northern Ballet (formerly Northern Ballet Theatre) knows how to turn a good book into a great dance. With new production, Cleopatra, however, the company is heading into uncharted territory. For, while the movers…

Jennifer Lopez dances to be slim

Celebrity Gossip

Jennifer Lopez dances to stay in shape. The singer-and-actress has reportedly stepped up her workouts since taking on a role as a judge on US TV show 'American Idol' but friends insist she never finds going to the gym a chore. One pal explained…

Matthew Bourne’s Lord of the Flies opens in Glasgow

Young men of Glasgow perform alongside professionals dancers

It’s not easy being a young boy in the dance world – just ask Billy Elliot. Things may have moved on since that fictional character swapped his narrow-minded small town for the Royal Ballet School – but only a fraction. The stigma attached to male…

Apollo’s Angels - Jennifer Homans

A history of ballet from former dancer with San Francisco

(Granta) This epic review of classical ballet’s occasionally glorious, often troubled past took Jennifer Homans ten years to write and research. From the artform’s infancy in the royal court of 16th century France, through its rise in Italy, Denmark…

Ailey 2 company carries an explosive amount of youthful vigour

American dance company set for King's Theatre, Glasgow

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…

LCD Soundsystem to retire after New York show

Music Gossip

LCD Soundsystem have announced they are to split. The American dance group - fronted by James Murphy - say they will play their last ever gig at New York's Madison Square Garden on April 2. In a statement released on their website, the band said…

Denis Lawson cheered Marchlands cast with dancing

TV Gossip

Denis Lawson found shooting 'Marchlands' so draining he often broke the tension with a song or a dance. The 63-year-old actor plays local mill owner Robert Bowen in the supernatural ITV1 series and he admitted the only way he could cope with the…

Alternative Valentine's Day presents and ideas

Four unique and romantic ways to celebrate this year

Being a List reader you’ve had the infinite good taste to pick a partner who can’t be doing with the corny hearts, flowers and factory-line V-Day dining experience we’re sold as ‘romance’. All well and good, but how on earth do you celebrate February…

Rambert Dance Company comes to Edinburgh

Industry leading London troupe to serve up another triple bill this winter

For many dance companies, the triple-bill is almost a guilty pleasure. Brought out once a year, it can’t hope to compete with the pulling power of a full-length narrative. Yet, throughout its history, Rambert Dance Company has served up triple bills as…

Edinburgh hip hop showcase Breakin’ Convention returns to Festival Theatre

Once upon a time, the hip hop dancers of Scotland could only look longingly down to London at the range of opportunities that the form’s annual festival, Breakin’ Convention, had to offer. So, too, the fans of this increasingly popular dance style. But…

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

Abstract contemporary dance, now with characterisation and Prokofiev

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…

Dance show Disgo blurs between audience and performer

Traverse play relies heavily on audience participation

What do you think about when you’re on the dancefloor? Be it in a dimly lit nightclub or at a family wedding, chances are something’s running through your mind. That’s the question Fleur Darkin asked hundreds of people when researching her company’s…

All-male dance show Ignite unites companies YDance and Smallpetitklein

Young show breaks down barriers surrounding boys and dance

Despite some of the most famous dancers in history being male, the dance world still struggles with the misconception that it’s ‘for girls’. The rise of hip hop has done much to address this, but for other dance styles, reaching out to boys and young…

Blaze fuses West End show and club night

Dance show set for Glasgow Theatre Royal

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…

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater perform Revelations

1960 piece set for Edinburgh Festival Theatre

A visit from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater guarantees a number of things. Great dancing, interesting choreography, uplifting music and, of course, Revelations. Choreographed by Ailey in 1960, the piece is a unique calling card performed at the end…