THE THINNEST WOMAN WINS Feel Good Dixie Chick
In a culture of diet-fads and eating disorders, a show called The Thinnest Woman Wins is bound to strike a nerve with viewers. Choreographer and performer, Dixie FunLee Shulman, hopes her show can also remind us to be happy here and now, rather than when we lose half a stone. Funnily enough, Dixie hails from Dixieland. As a young woman growing up in the southern United States. she was a competitive baton twirler, winning the title of Miss Teenage Majorette of America. She then went on to the University of Georgia, where the darker side of twirling, including weekly weigh-ins and butt- taping beneath uniforms (‘It wasn't fun,‘ she recalls), drove her to eat her way off the team.
Two decades later and four months pregnant, she's bringing her solo comedy/dance/theatre show to the Fringe for her first European performance. It’s a comic look at breast implants, botox, bulimia and body hair. ‘I'm putting something out there that’s fun and entertaining in the moment, but I‘m hoping that without being heavy-handed, it will open the door to self-acceptance.’ she says. Stateside, therapists have brought their patients to the show for the cathartic experience. Originally choreographed on a cast of 25 women, The Thinnest Woman Wins uses writing and movement from dancers and non-dancers alike to explore body-image, competition, and self-esteem. The one- woman version ends with a nude solo, which Shulman sees as the culmination of the process of unpeeling her experience. ‘When I tell people I perform naked, they usually say, “Really? Why would you do that?" For me, it was a natural progression of all the work I‘ve done on this subject matter.’ (Elizabeth Schwyzer)
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42 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE ‘:i A...) .‘
Telqilione
Book Festival 0131 624 5050
Fringe 0131 226 0000 International Festival 0131 473 2000 Film Festival 0131 623 8030
LIGHTS FAR OUT NORTH Charting a personal journey
l font .ised i‘li‘ii't>dr,1{>ltt:' Kithiina Fairugia will
tt ‘- "‘iaki'ig a Journey of bid, and spirit when she brings her
company 's triplebill to the fringe. A masters student in dance at the University of Surrey. l‘airugia founded three~f<irtyone dances in August of 2003. and already sees then Fringe programme as a plotting of the” progression so far Lights Far Out North based on a love triangle. is the first piece to become part of the company rep. while //l the F/esh is inspired by text messages and physical vulnerability. Both pieces take their inspiration from events in Farrugia's life. and focus on the ways peOple affect one another in relationships. Quartet. the company's latest work. marks the beginning of a new style. ‘The movement vocabulary I use is very diverse — sometimes fluid. sometimes Jarred. or wolent.‘ says Farrugia. '|'ve focused On the Journey more than on specific techniques.‘
(Elizabeth Schwyzeri I Bed/am Theatre, 225 9893. 23—28 Aug. 2pm, £36.50 (r5).
SMASHED
Limp performance under the influence 0
Who said dancers don't drink? Nobody 1 can remember. Nevertheless. these two y0ung ladies have set out to smash the pesky myth. and they won't stop till they drop. By half way through the 45 minute show. you wish they would. Despite some clever choreography and one winning section involving posh totties enJOying some lovely iubbly bubbly.
most of the show is lLlSI like being a M on the mall durznd freshers week at any upmeisity All the spilled cider is a sickening picture of Britain's alcohol problem ~ as if we needed reminding Ta for the complimentary Alka< Seltzer girls a I needed it. (EII.'dIl(?IIl Schwyzerl I The Zoo, (36." 7.3.“. until (90 Aug. 3pm, l‘5 il‘(€.:3(li_
RAW BEEF
Boys and their lack of toys 0000
This endearing and energetic piece of physical theatre sees two men stranded on the stage. dressed in ragged peach tutus and With only a few props to entertain themselves. These obiects become the centre of various sketches. arguments and power struggles. as the men use them to create disguises. weapons and even territorial markers. Most of all. this is a mowng portrait of the transition from friendship throogh hatred, domination and perhaps deSire. then back again. And it is the interaction between the two performers (plus a couple of very cute lion IlT‘ipfeSSlOflS) that really makes this a treat. (Rachael Street) I Gilded Balloon, until 27 August (not 23),
I 7.30am; a/so 76— 78 August, 7.30pm {‘6 (£35).
SHAKTI:
THE SHAMAN/ 1001 NIGHTS Overdoing the underwear .0
Eveh/ year. the August wind blows Shakti back to town, where she sets up shop JUSI spitting distance from the pubic triangle. and beckons With open arms and legs. Maybe Fringe veterans who've come
for GLASGOW DANCE see non-festival magazine