FESTIVAL DANCE | Previews
OCKHAM’S RAZOR: ARC AND EVERY ACTION Storytelling and aerial skills combine in a double bill of contemporary British circus
‘In many ways our work is akin to silent film – a gesture can communicate multitudes,’ says Charlotte Mooney, artistic director of circus company Ockham’s Razor. ‘There is a great deal of theatre that exists naturally within the movement of circus: holding and testing, bonds and struggles. It’s very rich territory and lends itself naturally to narrative.’
Narrative connects both the works which the London-based company is presenting at Underbelly’s Circus Hub this Fringe. Arc, their first piece, takes place aboard a giant suspended raft, and explores what happens to relationships when three people are trapped in the same spot. Mooney describes Every Action as a lighter piece in which four people discover a set of scales, leading to status games and one-upmanship. Ockham’s Razor is among a new wave of British companies
re-imagining the big-top tradition, using theme and narrative to complement circus skills. But though Mooney compares the two particular pieces in the company’s Fringe show to short stories, she is adamant there is still a strong argument for circus for the sake of entertainment.
‘We often feel uncomfortable with the conversations that spring up around “new” or “contemporary” circus. There is an implication that it has outgrown or moved beyond “traditional” circus,’ says Mooney. ‘Some people are drawn to the purely choreographic and how it relates to dance, others are drawn to burlesque and how circus relates to control and desire, others still want to make children laugh. We’re proud to be part of such a rich art form that can be so many different things and can contain so much.’ (Lucy Ribchester) ■ Underbelly’s Circus Hub, 0844 545 8252, 8–26 Aug (not 13, 20), 1.25pm, £14.50–£15.50 (£13.50–£14.50). Preview 7 Aug, £10.
SPECIAL EDITION 2015 Scottish Ballet dancers flex their choreographic muscles BUTOH BEETHOVEN Japanese drama meets German music with New Yorker Vangeline
360 ALLSTARS Circus gets a world champion reinvention
Eve Mutso, Jamiel Laurence and Constant Vigier are no strangers to choreography. Each day in the Scottish Ballet studios, they learn works by dance makers from all over the world.
But now, thanks to a choreographic initiative set up by the company’s artistic director, Christopher Hampson, the dancers have found themselves on the other side of the fence, creating their own work. 1 to 10, a fusion of dance and spoken word, is Laurence’s contribution to Special Edition 2015. ‘Chris was very important in encouraging me,’ says Laurence. ‘I also received support from the wardrobe and music departments, and the ballet staff were keen to assist with scheduling rehearsal time – they also made a great test audience!’ Known among his peers for rarely feeling nervous
before a performance, Laurence discovered another side to pre-show jitters when 1 to 10 was performed in Glasgow recently. ‘It surprised me how nerve-wracking watching a piece you have created can be,’ he says. ‘But with the dancers I’ve chosen to work with, the piece could not be in safer hands.’ (Kelly Apter) ■ Dance Base. 225 5525, 11–16 Aug, 5pm, £10 (£8). Previews 7–9 Aug, £8 (£6).
56 THE LIST FESTIVAL 6–13 Aug 2015
Butoh, the mystical, physically demanding and magnetic ‘dark soul dance’ of post-Hiroshima Japan, is a major ingredient of all performances by Vangeline. It’s 15 years since the French-born, New York-based translator-turned-dancer discovered this form of artistic expression, which she compares to falling in love or ‘when you find where you belong’.
For her, butoh is in large part a public act of symbolic transformation. ‘It confronts areas we sometimes push under the rug and need to confront collectively as human beings,’ says Vangeline.
She conceived Butoh Beethoven as a tribute to both Tatsumi Hijikata, one of butoh’s co-founders, and the titular German composer, drawing upon the power of Beethoven’s music and the dramatically charged art of conducting (which she studied for four months). There are, she claims, forces at work here that go beyond a typical dance piece: ‘I’m exploring human history in all its beauty and violence. I’ve also learned to always invite spirits into my dance.’ You have been warned and, ideally, intrigued. (Donald Hutera) ■ New Town Theatre, 220 0143, 8–17 Aug, 7pm, £12 (£9–£10). Previews 6 & 7 Aug, £7.
An attempt to reinvent circus with an urban twist – that's how producer, director and musician Gene Peterson describes 360 ALLSTARS, an international gathering of diverse performers. Rather than acrobats, jugglers or unicyclists, the show features world champions from fields including breakdancing, basketball freestyling and BMX Flatland. Since premiering two years ago, the group has
performed over 750 shows and workshops around the world. Instead of auditions, each contributor is chosen based on their prowess and reputation. ‘At first I had imagined it would be a challenge to recruit all these world champion athletes and artists, but actually everyone was very interested from the get-go,’ explains Peterson. ‘It’s not every day these artists would get the chance to collaborate with other world champions of other art forms.’
But according to Peterson, there's never any
danger of clashing egos. ‘The other reason they're chosen is down to their personality,’ he says. ‘There’s just no room for egos and attitudes. The energy on stage is always about unity, not superiority.’ (Murray Robertson) ■ Assembly Hall, 623 3030, 8–31 Aug (not 17), 4.15pm, £15–£16 (£13–£14). Previews 6 & 7 Aug, £10.