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SHAKTI Sensational sex specialist returns to
savour the moment
Last year. Fringe veteran Shakti waxed artistic via The Pillow Book. in which she was painted in the nude. This was the lndo-Japanese dance sensation at her most satisfying. and restrained. For her ninth c0nsecutive Fringe fling she decrees: 'No more mirrors. silks. combs and paint brushes.‘ Instead it's the handcuffs. ankle cuffs and whips of the voyeuristic Realm of Desire, in which the audience peeks at Shakti through blinds fronting the stage. This hard-core, heavy-metal embodiment of “the joy and pleaSure of bondage and freedom' is her evening entertainment. while its sequel Empire of the Senses plays in the afternoon.
Synthy new—age music accompanies time-lapse nature imagery into which Shakti melts. ‘But you know. they're the same.‘ she says. comparing the performances. ‘All is maya [illusion] and lila [play of god]. I intend to play it to the fullest and savour each delicious moment.’
(Donald Hutera) I Empire of the Senses, The Garage, 227 9009,
DANCE BASE
Stunning new dance centre packs a punch with its inventive contemporary programme
The stunning Dance Base is stuffing all its performance goodies into the start of the festival. Tasty movement is likely to be on the menu of Honey you’re a Pig, Scottish choreographer Rosie Kay’s study of appetite and the body. The food theme continues in TV Dinner, in which Thomas Small’s company Smallpetitklein tunes into the
fragile female mind.
Henry Montes, one of Britain’s best dancers, has worked with key figures like Jonathan Burrows and Siobhan Davies. His Flottmanhalle - four elemental solos set in composer Bruce Sharp's evocative sound environment - is paired with the Scottish/Spanish collaboration Subjects in Construction. Robert Hylton dubs his smart fusion of street and contemporary dance Urban Classicism. His solo spins alongside High Land, Scottish Dance Theatre artistic director Janet Smith’s engaging distillation of the national
image.
Of the self-contained shows, New Art Club presents This is Modem. Tom Roden and Pete Shenton’s terrifically funny dance history lesson can be enjoyed equally by terpsichorean know- nothings and human dance encyclopaedias. Last but not least there’s the Maori marvel Mika, whose tongue - and talent - keep popping up
every Fringe.
Book all five shows together and each costs just a fiver. Post-August 11, the venue offers professional and ordinary folk a load of classes from ballet to funk to martial arts. (Donald Hutera) l Dance Base 7 st-5th Move, Dance Base, 225 5525, 2—11 Aug (classes 2—37 Aug) £5—£8.
4—26 Aug, 5pm, £9 (£8); Realm of Desire, The Garage, 227 9009, 4-26 Aug, 70pm, £9 (£8).
SYNERGY Eclectic new show from Cambridge University
Eleven different dance pieces by eleven
Sensational Shaktl prepares to whip up a storm
individual choreographers make up Synergy, the eclectic new dance show from Cambridge University's Contemporary Workshop. Artistic director Lise Smith explains: 'Some pieces explore certain themes and stories. others are simply a response to a particular piece of music.‘ Topics explored include the AIDS crisis in Africa. Alzheimer's and PT Anderson's Magnolia movie.
Set up in August 1999 by eight student dancers, the workshop
is now the largest dance '
operation in Cambridgeshire. Running weekly classes, they have also performed six new works in the last year providing a forum for young, first-time choreographers. Synergy promises 12 dancers in top condition. performing solos, duets and trios with musical inspiration from Simple Minds and Aimee Mann to the Propellerheads. (John Binnie) I The Garage, 227 9009, 4-7 7 Aug, 6.50pm, £8 (£7).
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Dance Base get trollled
DANCE BASE MOVES 2002
Watch it--- do it.-- enioy it---!
Performances: Mika, Scottish Dance Theatre, Air Dance Company plus many others. 2nd-l lth Aug (exc. Monday)
Classes 8. workshops: All ages 8. levels from 9am.
29th Jul-3lst Aug (Tuesday-Sunday) / //
dance
Dance Base National Centre for Dance 14-16 Grassmarket Venue 22 0131 225 5525 (tickets available now) www.dancebase.co.uk
1—8 Aug 2002 TH. LIST FISTIVAL OUIDI 31