May 23, 2018
Building on last year’s dance showcase, we are proud this year to present a full programme of critically acclaimed and powerful dance performances selected following an open call which attracted 300 proposals from around the world. From this we selected a broad range of innovative dance performance and choreographers from across Scotland as well as a number of special projects from further afield including Lithuania, Italy and South Korea.
In addition to two dedicated dance showcases on Monday 28 and Wednesday 30 May, we also have performances and pop-ups throughout the festival.
Here’s our dance programme at a glance…
“A building. What do we see through the windows of the building? What do they see looking out at us?”
Snapshots into the lives of 5 female characters, Windows is an exploration of the glimpses we have of the lives of others and what we see from the other side looking in. Performed on the main stage in the Leith Theatre with performers suspended against the back wall, All or Nothing preview this first draft of a new vertical dance work, combining dance, theatre and aerial arts.
“An emotive and breathtaking pop-up duet, exquisitely composed”
Air Hunger is an emotive and breathtaking duet, exquisitely composed with unashamedly demanding choreography that leaves the dancers gasping for air. Inspired by the fear and anxiety of suffocation, the performers embody reactions, images and memories, leaving the audience immersed and breathless.
“A seies of multi-site-specific contemporary dance duets, based around the theme of love”
Bringing together the talents of choreographer Janis Claxton and composer Pippa Murphy with four world-class dancers, POP-UP Duets (Fragments of Love) is designed to emerge from public situations to be enjoyed by invited as well as accidental audiences who find themselves passing by.
“A visually arresting exploration of human emotion in the digital age.”
Italian-based artists CollettivoXL will bring their piece Motion&Motion to Scotland for the first time in four years, when it first made its debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Pairing intricate light with movement, Motion&Motion puts the brakes on the frenzy of modern life as dance and projection intertwine in a visually arresting exploration of human emotion in the digital age.
“Dancers philosophise, seduce and experiment, all set to a fresh dance-punk score”
Velvet Petal is inspired by the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly, the photography of Robert Mapplethorpe, and the transformative power of creating beauty out of whatever you can find on the bedroom floor. Choreographed by Scottish Dance Theatre’s Artistic Director Fleur Darkin and created in collaboration with this exceptional company, the Velvet Petal dancers philosophise, seduce and experiment with their bodies, clothing and ideas.
“An online video installation based on ideas of journeys, loops and cycles.
Referencing time, spatial geography, sacred geometry, English literature and music theory, this work – by international award-winning film maker, artist and teacher Simon Fildes – explores a non-linear, fragmented and network-distributed choreography in 24 circular video loops.
“A light and dance collaboration exploring narration through visual effects.”
Trinary is an exploration of narration through visual effects and will use experimental lighting and costume design to fuse colour with character, creating a subtle, technological version of movement theatre. As dancers interact their colours mix, creating a progressively more complex colour landscape and opening up a grand canvas for character exploration.
“Utilising dance and light projection to explore intricate daily senses to hysteric feelings”
Through a marriage of dance and light projection, Skins explores intricate daily senses to hysteric feelings and was inspired by differences in perceptions of personal space between cultures. The creation of the piece began with Jung in Lee’s experiences with subway rush hour in her home country of South Korea, and is based on reacting directly through the body with feelings of instinct.
“Two dancers, each a different Trump, a different articulation of opposing views.”
Some People Say is a response to the Trump presidency in its campaign and first few months in office, created by Edinburgh-based dance artist and writer Róisín O’Brien and performed by dancers Katie Armstrong and Christina Liddell. The piece will also feature an intricate music and sound design, created by Edinburgh based experimental music duo, silo portem.
“A sensory space of memory recollection, celebrating small moments of beauty and the beautifully mundane”
ISLA is a screendance / performance installation inviting audiences to be immersed in a curated space of video, sound and movement. The starting point for this new work is a genuine attempt to reconstruct lived emotions and sensations, by creating a cinematic and physical abstraction of memory, based on the artists’ personal experiences.
“An exploration of the highly physical and emotional demands the body is subject to daily.”
Inspired by a culturally enlightening trip to Japan, Glasgow-based dancer Leeanne Dobbie will explore the country’s unforgiving work culture. Her piece is based on the highly physical and emotional demands the body is subject to daily regarding the vast number of hours workers are exposed to in order ‘to succeed’.
“Three figures emerge from a bed of soil, rolling, falling and slamming into the earth.”
Becky Namgauds is a dance artist and choreographer based in London and Birmingham. Rodadoras considers ideas of femicide, women left and lost in rivers and wastelands through contemporary dance and Capoeira, bringing the female form and the earth together. In the outdoor performance, three figures emerge from a bed of soil, rolling, falling and slamming into the earth.
“A unique performance piece that attempts to explore our current inner struggle between multiple identities.”
Lucas Chih-Peng Kao is a Taiwanese filmmaker and artist working across performance, projection, dance and photography based in Edinburgh. Kai-Wen Chuang is a Taiwanese dance artist based in Glasgow and Taipei. Based on their personal experiences, Catching Up with Oneself is a unique performance piece that attempts to explore our current inner struggle between multiple identities.
“Sound, movement and live improvisation exploring the metaphorical potential of cartography.”
SHHE is the collaborative work of Dundee-based dance duo, French born dancer and choreographer, Eve Ganneau and Scottish born musician and producer, Su Shaw. Geographical Skin will explore the metaphorical potential of cartography; maps have proven to be a versatile medium through which to express our inquisitive nature and make sense of our physical world.
And finally….
Keep your eyes peeled on the evening of Saturday 26 May at Leith Theatre.
Expected the unexpected.
