Dance

Soulwaxmas

9 Dec 2009

To crowds of young ravers the cash-generating might of the Soulwax/2 Many DJs axis places them close to the commercial epicentre of dance music. Just look at this show for proof: set in an arena in the middle of a shopping centre, it’s being promoted…

The Nutcracker

4 Dec 2009

Scottish Ballet’s triumphant production of the classic ballet with Tchaikovsky’s magnificent score returns for a three-month Scottish tour. The Nutcracker is choreographed by Ashley Page, whose contemporary retelling combines the fairy tale world with…

Best of a decade: Timeline

2 Dec 2009

1999 July Scottish Parliament opens, with Labour candidate Donald Dewar elected as the first First Minister ahead of SNP rival Alex Salmond. Dewar died suddenly in October 2000, following a fall at his Edinburgh residence. 2000 June Biffy Clyro…

Best of a decade: Respectable in the Noughties

2 Dec 2009

Much of the most powerful art produced in Scotland in the 1980s–1990s developed in angry reaction to the political situation and tapped into our radical, left-wing and egalitarian traditions – it’s no accident that the most popular works of that period…

Scottish Matthew Bourne showcase given go-ahead

19 Nov 2009

A new piece of work by dance legend Matthew Bourne will be staged as a result of National Lottery Funding. The King’s Theatre and Theatre Royal have been awarded £265,905 by the Scottish Arts Council (SAC) as part of a £2.5million National Lottery…

Introducing: Dare!

The best new nights in town. This month: Dare!

13 Nov 2009

Residents: Much respected house DJ Jon Pleased Wimmin (pictured), who has played at some of the biggest nights across the globe from Puscha and Miss Moneypennies to Fabric and Pressure. Guests: Nothing is confirmed but expect the cream of local DJs…

Mark Morris Dance Group

29 Oct 2009

For many choreographers, the work is never finished. Each time they watch a performance, another note is taken, another tweak made. Not so Mark Morris. For him, when the job’s done, it’s done. Making a welcome return to Edinburgh with works…

Plan B: A Wee Home From Home

29 Oct 2009

The more things change the more they stay the same, as the old saying goes. Twenty-one years ago, when A Wee Home From Home was first staged, it was an astute reflection on the social and political landscape in Scotland. Dancer Frank McConnell, musician…

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…

Bounce: Insane in the Brain

A streetdance retelling of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

15 Oct 2009

It took the members of Swedish streetdance company Bounce a while to come up with their name – but once you see them in action, you realise it’s the perfect choice. Their energetic re-working of the 1975 film, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest finds the…

Regina

Body of woman, heart of a king - and the legs too

15 Oct 2009

From Glenda Jackson to Cate Blanchett, many an actress has enjoyed the challenge of playing the Virgin Queen. So why not a dancer – and a male one at that? Inspired by the varied portrayals of Queen Elizabeth I, Tom Sapsford has created Regina, a dance…

Scottish Ballet's 40th Anniversary

A triple-bill of celebration

1 Oct 2009

They say life begins at 40, and looking at Scottish Ballet it’s hard to disagree. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the company has never looked better. A fantastic new home at Tramway in Glasgow, an impressive team of technically strong…

Curve Foundation Dance Company

Previewing a diverse triple-bill of contemporary dance

1 Oct 2009

When Peter Darrell choreographed O Caritas in 1974, it was to ‘express the senselessness of violence’. Thirty five years on, the late founder of Scottish Ballet would no doubt be horrified to see how little has changed. Having staged two previous…

The Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival

Still breaking barriers and bigger than ever

17 Sep 2009

It started in 2007, with 40 fairly low-fi events, mostly in and around Glasgow. Two years on, and the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival is collaborating with major Scottish artists, musicians and writers, co-running events with the Natioanl…

Dorian Gray preview

Last year's International Festival dance hit is looking even better

17 Sep 2009

In August 2008, the eyes of the dance world turned expectantly on one man: Matthew Bourne. Known internationally for choreographing fun shows for all the family – Edward Scissorhands and Nutcracker to name but two – Bourne had strayed into unfamiliar…

Bright Black preview

Vox Motus return with the theatre of illusion

3 Sep 2009

Unless something goes drastically wrong during the ‘sawing a lady in half’ trick, death and magic don’t usually mix. At Vox Motus, however, the art of illusion lies at the heart of all they do. And now, the Glasgow-based theatre company which wowed…

Boh

Moving dance exploration of women’s roles

24 Aug 2009

This solo performance piece created by the Sanpapié theatre-dance company opens with a women sitting in a kitchen-like space munching on popcorn, a faraway look in her eyes. From time to time, props and bits of costume are fired out of a wardrobe at the…

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…

Up and Over It!

Irish dance finds a new direction

23 Aug 2009

Just as shows such as Riverdance sought to release Irish dancing from the steely grip of the competitive circuit, this entertaining hour seeks to liberate the form yet further. Dancers Suzanne Cleary and Peter Harding have toured the world, won every…

Dance hitlist

23 Aug 2009

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

Brazilian Fever

Hot Latin moves fail to ignite a proper fire

23 Aug 2009

You can’t help but feel cheated by this show. Promising to be a ‘Brazilian cabaret variety show fusing samba, funk, afro and jazz dance routines with theatrical and seductive compositions’, it’s more of a sparse two-woman routine taking place in an old…

Kataklo Athletic Dance Theatre's Love Machines

Athletic dance without depth

23 Aug 2009

Love Machines provides evidence that a good concept and strong technique is not enough. Based on the works of Leonardo da Vinci, and apparently set in an underground cave inhabited by strange creatures, Kataklo throw together kitsch costumes, a poor…

Scottish Ballet

23 Aug 2009

Three diverse works from our national ballet company, all of which will put these increasingly powerful dancers to the test. Reportedly his own personal favourite, Sir Frederick Ashton’s Scenes de Ballet opens the night with style and sophistication.

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…

Everything Must Go (or the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles)

Dad, in drag, in memoriam

21 Aug 2009

It says on the programme notes that this show is a labour of love, and it is. Kristin Fredricksson’s father Karl was a hurdler, a ballet dancer, a drag enthusiast, a comic, a creator of characters, and a hoarder. He died of cancer in June this year; and…