Dance

Ballet West: Swan Lake

Production combining professional and students tours Scotland

3 Feb 2012

When you’ve left school and moved onto a new life, going back to where it all began could feel like a backward step. If the school in question is in a beautiful location – the Scottish Highlands – it starts to sound more appealing. Throw in a fantastic…

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…

Interview: Choreographer Christine Devaney

Artistic director of Scottish contemporary dance company Curious Seed

1 Feb 2012

Christine Devaney, artistic director of Scottish contemporary dance company Curious Seed, tells us all about her new production, PUSH What made you want to be a choreographer? I’ve honestly never thought ‘I want to be a choreographer’, but I knew I…

Alexandra Burke's party album

Music Gossip

11 Jan 2012

Alexandra Burke wants to make people "get up and go for a great night out" with her new album. The 'Broken Heels' singer is "99 per cent" complete with her second record, and has made a group of tracks which will hopes will inspire people to party…

Four List readers share their New Year's resolutions

An insight into getting started in trapeze, cookery, ballet or capoeira

6 Jan 2012

'The feeling of achievement is amazing' Name Denise Deutsch Age 30 Profession Fabric buyer, Mandors Skill Trapeze and Aerial Arts I fell into the idea of aerial arts as a hobby after unexpectedly getting a ticket to see Leona Lewis perform in…

Scottish Ballet - Sleeping Beauty

Dynamic and opulent restaging of Ashley Page's 2007 hit

6 Jan 2012

Choreographed by Ashley Page in 2007, as part of a triumvirate of winter ballets he has made with designer Antony McDonald, Sleeping Beauty is opulence itself. Opening in a Victorian hothouse, the guests at Princess Aurora’s christening are lavishly…

Loic Lalande and Tom Pritchard Double Bill

Contemporary dancer Tom Pritchard discusses the stress and excitement of performing new works

19 Dec 2011

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…

Top Hat

Loving tribute to the Fred'n'Ginger classic, starring Tom Chambers and Summer Strallen

24 Nov 2011

According to legend, screen hoofer Fred Astaire was such a perfectionist that, during the 40th take of a scene from Swing Time (1936), his partner Ginger Rogers’ feet started to bleed through her satin slippers. In this stage adaptation of one of…

The Shoogle Project - Frank McConnell of Plan B

Trad Scottish band Shooglenifty collaborate with dance group Plan B

15 Nov 2011

How did the Shoogle Project come about, and who is involved? I went to see Shooglenifty at a gig in Cromarty about three years ago and just loved their great dance music. When I put the idea of doing a show jointly they were unequivocal in a…

Phoenix Dance Theatre: Declarations

Four innovative pieces from the acclaimed dance collective

15 Nov 2011

When Phoenix Dance Theatre (formerly Company) was created in 1981, the founders could scarcely have known how appropriate the name would prove to be. On many occasions over the past 30 years, the company has been re-born from the ashes of what went…

Interview: Matthew Bourne - Choreographer of the Month

Witty and glamorous re-working of the Nutcracker returns to Scotland

15 Nov 2011

What made you want to be a choreographer? I was always putting on shows when I was a kid, and taking part in local amateur things. I thought I wanted to be an actor, and I tried it when I was about 15, but couldn’t bear using my voice. I was quite shy…

Ever been to a silent disco with a Chinese dragon?

25 Oct 2011

Ever explored a museum at night? Ever had a cocktail surrounded by thousands of years of history? Ever been to a silent disco with a Chinese dragon? Thanks to the support of RBS and The List, the National Museum of Scotland is bringing you an exclusive…

Company Chordelia introduces us to the beautiful-but-dark dance piece Miranda

Chordelia's artistic director Kally Lloyd Jones discusses the production

21 Oct 2011

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

21 Oct 2011

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…

DANCE: FILM 2011 festival roundup

Films about Bill T Jones, Tanja Liedtke, Mariemma and Pina Bausch feature at the 2011 fest

21 Oct 2011

When you’ve got a meaty filling, there’s nothing wrong with wrapping it in a bit of frivolous puff pastry. That’s the strategy taken by DANCE:FILM director, Steph Wright with this, her fourth festival celebrating the coming together of movement and…

Liv Lorent, of balletLORENT - interview

The Newcastle-based company are touring Scotland with sensual new work La Nuit Intime

17 Oct 2011

What made you want to be a choreographer? I couldn’t be the dancer I wanted to be, but felt compelled to marry the dancers I did adore with the music I loved. I still feel that this is something I need to do, and enjoy collaborating with others towards…

Sonia Sabri of Kathakbox - where Indian dance-meets-hip hop

The choreographer on shared musical and rhythmic roots

21 Sep 2011

Picture the scene – you meet somebody from a different country, you can’t speak their language, they can’t speak yours, but somehow you find a way to communicate. Well that’s exactly what Sonia Sabri has been doing for the past nine years, only for her…

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…

Scottish Ballet: Kings 2 Ends and Pennies From Heaven

Artistic director Ashley Page discusses the upcoming ballet double-bill

13 Sep 2011

What made you want to be a choreographer? I’ve always been interested in the creative process across all the arts, and as a dancer at the Royal Ballet I had the good fortune to be involved in the creation of new work with some of the finest…

Re-Triptych

Mesmerising epic journey of dance

2 Sep 2011

Even as we file into the auditorium, the mesmerising spectacle has begun. The dancers sit holding golden bowls, calmly anointing the final touches on a huge mandala - a geometric Buddhist symbol - made from blue and white confetti covering the whole…

Scottish Ballet

An evening of contemporary classics

1 Sep 2011

For a programme dominated by music from the great canon of composers, the opening to Finnish choreographer Jorma Elo’s Kings 2 Ends, a silent dynamic solo, comes as a surprise. But it’s curiously pleasing. It lets the clean stretched lines of the dance…

Scottish Ballet at 2011 Edinburgh International Festival

Ashley Page and Jorma Elo on the EIF programme

25 Aug 2011

Ashley Page maintains that, when putting together Scottish Ballet’s new double bill for the Edinburgh International Festival, pairing the legendary Scottish choreographer Kenneth MacMillan’s neo-classical 1965 piece Song of the Earth with a completely…

Drought and Rain (Re-creation 2011) at Edinburgh International Festival

Ea Sola dance piece gives voice to the pain of war

24 Aug 2011

In 1995, when Vietnamese choreographer Ea Sola created her original version of Drought and Rain, she cast elderly women who were once dancers in their youth. Due to circumstances – a war raging through their country – the women had swapped dancing shoes…

Shen Wei Dance Arts perform Re-Triptych at 2011 Edinburgh International Festival

Five reasons why missing it is not an option

24 Aug 2011

1: The Inspiration Shen Wei made a personal pilgrimage to Cambodia, Tibet and his birthplace, China to create Re (i), (ii) and (iii). Now the three works have been sewn together to form Re-Triptych, they form a diverse, largely abstract emotional…

Sriyah

Ancient dance in a modern era

24 Aug 2011

Studying for ten hours a day, six days a week for six years, the dancers at the Nrityagram school near Bangalore know that to truly absorb Indian classical dance takes time. The first student to emerge from the residential course, Surupa Sen graduated…

Interview: Choreographer Joan Cleville

Scottish Dance Theatre choreographer shares his thoughts

19 Aug 2011

Who or what inspired you to dance? When I was 16, I attended a dance summer school in my community centre in Barcelona. I had no experience whatsoever but I met a British teacher who introduced me to dance and offered me a scholarship at her evening…

Enclosure 99: Humans

Are we human or are we dancer?

18 Aug 2011

The youngest female folds her body into a knot in the corner of the Perspex-fronted cage, slipping her head into the lap of the youngest male. ‘As you can see, this one is particularly flexible,’ explains the zookeeper, wryly. ‘And this one; well, we…

Last Orders

Contemporary retelling of cannibal tale fails to set the blood pumping

18 Aug 2011

There is no end to the unpleasant images that choreographer and director Al Seed presents us with in this fetishistic modern retelling of the legend of Sawney Bean. Those familiar with the story of Scotland’s real or fictitious 16th century cannibal…

Circolombia: Urban Intimo

Impressive circus showcase that leaves you wanting more

14 Aug 2011

This colourful, multi-faceted circus skills showcase opens with allusions to the impoverished backgrounds of its cast members. The master of ceremonies crawls into the space inside a waste bucket while screens at the back of the stage show images of the…

Soy de Cuba

Song and dance spectacular a real feel-good Fringe show

11 Aug 2011

This is not so much a feel-good Fringe show as a feel-sizzling-hot-and-leave-dripping-with-sweat show. Song and dance spectacular Soy de Cuba is so full of perma-grins, saucy winks and jazzily acrobatic moves it could be a cruise ship act. But, minutes…

Pinocchio: A Fantasy of Pleasures

Adults-only retelling is decidedly not Disney

11 Aug 2011

Sometimes the spectacle is enough. The experience of watching Company XIV’s radical reinterpretation of Pinocchio is a little like gorging on gourmet food: something sensual and rich that might not offer you too much nourishment in the long run, but…

Slender Threads

Sensitive portrayal of a woman’s experience of cancer

11 Aug 2011

Chickenshed is not a company to shy away from difficult or painful subject matters. Previous shows have dealt with knife crime and the true story of a 19-year-old boy who was killed while fleeing a robbery scene. Here they lay bare a woman’s experience…

The Ballet Ruse

Sneaking a cheeky peek at the secret lives of ballerinas

11 Aug 2011

2011 has been quite a year for peeking backstage at the ballet, with the BBC documentary series The Agony and the Ecstasy and Darren Aronofsky’s thriller Black Swan. The Ballet Ruse is an altogether more irreverent look at the painstaking discipline…

La Putyka

Don your beer goggles and soak up the fun of this Czech circus

11 Aug 2011

La Putyka is slang for ‘little run down pub’ in Czech. Many citizens of the Czech Republic will probably be familiar with what British people look like in one of their putykas, but for those of us who have never been on a stag or hen night to Prague…

Forgetting Natasha

Multimedia memories with excellent choreography

11 Aug 2011

As a poetic and artistic response to early-onset dementia, Forgetting Natasha is a well-conceived idea with some utterly beautiful moments. The writing, by Anna Mae Selby, is sharply-observed and designed to tug at the heartstrings. Multimedia…

Dot504: Mah Hunt

Acclaimed Czech dance company bring duet to 2011 Edinburgh Fringe

10 Aug 2011

DOT504 made its Fringe debut in 2008 with Holdin’ Fast, a woozy, delicate work about desire, with six young dancers tumbling and fondling under showers of glitter and old Persian carpets. The company returned by popular demand in 2009 with the darker…

Last Orders dance piece based on Sawney Bean

Al Seed Fringe piece on 16th century Scottish cannibal

10 Aug 2011

Anthony Hopkins’ quivering lips, as he extols the fava beans, Chianti and human liver combo, is one of the most disturbing yet compelling images in Silence of the Lambs. For while serial killers might be scarily fascinating, they’re ten a penny compared…

Enclosure 99 - Humans

Janis Claxton dance piece set in Edinburgh Zoo

10 Aug 2011

When Janis Claxton took up daily residence in an Edinburgh Zoo enclosure during the 2008 Fringe, she had no idea how much attention she and her fellow dancers would generate. ‘I was only doing it as an experiment,’ Claxton avows, ‘absolutely unaware…

Interview: Austin McCormick of New York dance outfit Company XIV

Dance piece Pinocchio: A Fantasy of Pleasures at Edinburgh Fringe

10 Aug 2011

Who or what inspired you to choreograph? I was inspired from an early age by the combination of mediums in Baroque performance (1600-1750); movement, scenic design, music, and costumes combine to give an audience a 360 degree experience at the theatre…

Dance Marathon

Sweat-slicked endurance test

8 Aug 2011

At three hours in, the fatigue has begun to show. As per the First Rule of Dance Marathon, we’re all still moving our feet constantly, but it’s descended to a listless, obedient shuffling. A room full of sweating strangers, inhibitions completely lost…

Korean Drum: Journey of a Soul

Dance to the rhythm of life

8 Aug 2011

Sometimes words are not required. Sometimes a single performer beating a frenetic rhythm on a drum suspended from an ornate frame is enough to raise the hairs on your arm. For those who love a bit of variety in their Fringe life, though, this showcase…

Silent

Witty and moving portrayal of life on the streets

8 Aug 2011

Shuffling across the stage under a blanket, Pat Kinevane slowly makes his way towards the audience. Peering out from underneath the dirty and torn material, glittery eye shadow adorning each lid, he starts to speak. What are we expecting him to say? A…

Uncharted Waters

Homage to life on the waves told through aerial circus skills

8 Aug 2011

The wayward charm of running away to sea is beautifully captured by aerial dance and roguish shanties, in this three-part collaboration between Strange Bird Zirkus and All or Nothing. Lucy Deacon and Jennifer Paterson lure us in with their parallels…

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…

Fringe 2011: Five dance shows based on true-stories

Real life events provide inspirational for several Fringe shows this year

29 Jul 2011

Falling Man. Who can forget the horrific image of a man falling to his death from the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks? This haunting solo by Dundee-based dance company Smallpetitklein was inspired by the ubiquitous photos capturing the…

Circolombia bring Urban show to Edinburgh Festival

South American acrobats and anecdotes

29 Jul 2011

Their lives may have started in adversity, but when the performers of Circolombia step on stage at this year’s Fringe, it’s as fully fledged professionals. All the members of the troupe grew up on the streets of Cali in Colombia, facing a daily round of…

Interview - Muirne Bloomer and Emma O’Kane of The Ballet Ruse

Ballerinas swap the barre for the bar

29 Jul 2011

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…

Agnes and Walter (A Little Love Story)

A Walter Mitty-inspired dance performance that reclaims the power of daydreams

29 Jul 2011

Poor old Walter Mitty. Since James Thurber published the Secret Life in the 1930s, his name has become synonymous with deranged fantasising. However, a newly-established dance company has decided to rescue him from the sniggers of history. ‘Something…

Dance Marathon - Edinburgh show where audience provides the action

3-hour long participatory show inspired by They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?

28 Jul 2011

It’s over three hours long, inspired by that celluloid study of Depression-era desperation They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, and you, the audience, provide the majority of the action. Doesn’t sound like a great night out on the surface, but Dance…

Forgetting Natasha tackles dementia via dance and digital animation

Multimedia and memory on the dancefloor at 2011 Edinburgh Festival

28 Jul 2011

‘What would happen if you didn’t have memories?’ asks Heather Eddington, artistic director of dance film company State of Flux. ‘You would almost disappear, because essentially that’s what we base ourselves on – what we’ve done, where we’ve…

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.

Rock the Ballet incorporates multiple dance styles

Ballet gets a rock and pop makeover at 2011 Edinburgh Festival

28 Jul 2011

If the word ballet leads you to thoughts of starched white tutus and tight buns, then Rock the Ballet is here to disabuse you of that notion. For although there will indeed be tight buns on stage, they’re considerably lower down than your average prima…

Swimming With My Mother a tender mother and son dance duet

2011 Edinburgh festival show from Ireland' CoisCéim Dance Theatre

28 Jul 2011

David Bolger, director of Ireland’s double Fringe First-winning company CoisCéim (Gaelic for footstep) Dance Theatre, is back with a show that promises to resonate with tender, loving and far from soggy memories. Bolger grew up by Dublin Bay: ‘I was…

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…

Brazilian dance highlights at Edinburgh 2011

Now and at the Time of Our Turn, Parallel Memories, My Voluntary Punishments and Another Cappadocia

20 Jul 2011

Long known for its rich dance tradition, Kelly Apter finds Brazil’s contemporary dance companies responding to all aspects of the country’s diverse culture

Dance highlights at 2011 Edinburgh Fringe

Clips from Dance Marathon, Castle Rocks Breakdance and Enclosure 99 - Humans

20 Jul 2011

Dance Marathon. Award-winning Canadian theatre collective, bluemouth inc. invite you to take part in this four-hour endurance test of a show. Strap on your number, pull on some comfy shoes and start dancing. Based on the competitions born out of…

Edinburgh Fringe 2011 for a Fiver - Dance

Cut-price tickets for some of the most exciting dance shows at the Fringe

8 Jul 2011

Arnica 9CH. A warts and all description of what lies behind the on-stage polish and seemingly perfect body of a professional dancer. The Ballet Ruse. Dressed in white tutus and clutching pint glasses, two dancers take a tongue in cheek look at the…

Dance trilogy Re-Triptych journeys from Tibet to China at 2011 EIF

Shen Wei piece features music of Ani Choying Dolma and John Tavener

7 Jul 2011

Re – (i) Shen Wei was standing in a record store in New York City when he felt the power of Tibetan spirituality. Despite having made three trips to the region, exploring its temples, it was not until he returned home to America that the music for Re…

Siobhan Davies Dance: Rotor

Experimental cross-artform dance from nine commissioned artists

15 Jun 2011

‘I hate the word inspiration,’ says Siobhan Davies. Which may seem ironic, given how inspirational she has been to budding young dancers and choreographers over the years. But for Davies, inspiration implies a light bulb moment, when something just…

Pilrig Park School: Time

Dance piece from Edinburgh school for 11-18-year-olds with learning needs

27 May 2011

It’s a fact of life that audiences at the average school show will be comprised solely of the performers’ nearest and dearest. Unless, that is, your reputation precedes you – which is exactly what has happened to Pilrig Park, a secondary school for…

Tom Pritchard: As Yet Untitled

The Arches' associate artist-in-residence looks forward to a new improvisational collaboration

27 May 2011

For most performers it’s the stuff of nightmares – finding yourself centre stage with no knowledge of script or steps. For dancer and choreographer Tom Pritchard, however, it’s the ideal scenario. Currently associate artist at The Arches, Pritchard is…

Edinburgh International Festival 2011 IN festival membership scheme

EIF and The List deal for half-price tickets, events and freebies

24 May 2011

Edinburgh International Festival - in association with The List magazine - are offering members of an innovative and exclusive membership scheme a whole host of half-price tickets, event passes and freebies for the 2011 Festival season. Membership to…

Choreographer of the month: Wayne McGregor

The Random Dance choreographer discusses recent piece ENTITY

23 May 2011

What made you want to become a choreographer? ‘Initially watching John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever and Grease! I was eight years old and ballet and contemporary dance were not on my horizon at all. I didn’t have any opportunity to do those styles…

Festival of Museums set for nationwide celebration of Scotland’s culture in May 2011

Music, storytelling and period fashion among highlights of new festival

1 May 2011

From the Groam House Museum in Ross-shire and Portsoy Bothy in Banffshire, to the Annan Museum in Dumfries and Galloway, the Festival of Museums features an eclectic and colourful range of concerts, talks, workshops, performances and exhibitions taking…

Preview - Compagni S'Poart: Na Grani

French choreographer Mickaël Le Mer to present his latest work at Glasgow's Tramway

25 Apr 2011

One of the dance world’s many attributes is its ability to cross the language barrier unscathed. Dancers let their bodies, rather than their mouths, do the talking – a form of communication that needs no translation. Instead, dance has its own language…

Tramway Family Day: Alice in Wonderland

The Glasgow arts venue celebrates Lewis Carrol's most famous creation

14 Apr 2011

When young Alice sips from a bottle marked ‘drink me’ in Lewis Carroll’s well-loved tale, Alice in Wonderland, a remarkable change occurs. Which is one of the reasons the team at Tramway was inspired to base its latest Family Day around this most…

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…

Choreographer Richard Alston takes part in our Q&A ahead of his appearance at Glasgow's Theatre Royal

13 Apr 2011

Richard Alston Dance Company will be in Glasgow this May, performing Alston's 1990 work Rough Cut alongside the Hoagy Carmichael-inspired Shuffle it Right and the Prokofiev-inspired Out of the Strong. He answers some of our questions on his work.

No Lights, No Lycra: the dance-in-the-dark craze hits Glasgow

13 Apr 2011

As a wise man once said, you can’t start a fire without a spark. However, now you can go dancing in the dark, as the No Lights, No Lycra craze has finally arrived in Glasgow. Starting in Melbourne in 2009 and spreading worldwide soon after, NLNL is a…

5 reasons not to miss Michael Clark Company

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

24 Mar 2011

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

24 Mar 2011

(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

23 Mar 2011

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

21 Mar 2011

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

21 Mar 2011

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

21 Mar 2011

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

21 Mar 2011

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

21 Mar 2011

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

9 Mar 2011

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

4 Mar 2011

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

4 Mar 2011

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

26 Feb 2011

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

16 Feb 2011

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

16 Feb 2011

(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

11 Feb 2011

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

8 Feb 2011

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

3 Feb 2011

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

26 Jan 2011

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

26 Jan 2011

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

3 Nov 2010

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

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…

Dance show Disgo blurs between audience and performer

Traverse play relies heavily on audience participation

3 Nov 2010

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

27 Oct 2010

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

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…

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater perform Revelations

1960 piece set for Edinburgh Festival Theatre

6 Oct 2010

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…

Return2you dance theatre piece from Susanna Curtis

29 Sep 2010

For 22 years, choreographer Susanna Curtis has been journeying between the place of her birth and the land where she carved out a home and career. Born in Glasgow but based in Nuremberg, Curtis has drawn inspiration from those trips for her latest work…

Looking back on 25 years of commentary on Scottish culture

25 years of The List

23 Sep 2010

A lot has happened in 25 years of Scottish culture. Niki Boyle gives a blow-by-blow account of the major events

First Scottish solo show by Babette Mangolte explores work with Yvonne Rainer

23 Sep 2010

The first solo show in Scotland by filmmaker Babette Mangolte explores her working relationship with performance artist Yvonne Rainer. Neil Cooper assesses the impact of their collaboration

Tramway celebrates radical career of Yvonne Rainer

10 Sep 2010

Like many artforms, dance underwent a minor revolution in the 1960s – much of it taking place at a church in New York’s Greenwich Village. In 1962, ballet was beginning to lose its stranglehold on the genre as modern dance found its feet. But for some…

Meredith Monk: Songs of Ascension

There is so much beauty here

7 Sep 2010

It’s difficult to begin describing Songs of Ascension, a new(ish) work by composer, musician, artist and mercurial force of nature Meredith Monk, because it doesn’t fit cleanly into any of the nice, regular boxes we use to describe different kinds of…

Scottish Ballet: Geometry And Grace

Troupe perform Sir Frederick Ashton’s Scènes de ballet

7 Sep 2010

‘Fitter, happier, more productive,’ say Radiohead in their song of (almost) the same name – used to superb effect by Scottish Ballet in its 2007 piece, Ride The Beast. Three years later, it’s a slogan which still fits the company like a glove. Ever…