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UNION DANCERS
It‘s a joining ofculture. an integration ofdance-styles that gives Union Dance its name. They stress the multi-cultural make-up ofthe group — black and white — and present a programme which moves from
breakdancc to ballet with ‘Spirit and . Energy‘. ‘We‘re dynamic rather than delicate‘ says Catherine Bougaard. artistic director. Union Dance do not so much want to be appreciated as enjoyed.
Union Dance looks to Africa. India and here in Britain for inspiration. In Rastafarian aritst Thomas ’ Pinnocki‘s piece Story Time, Dance Time they move to the Soul of Marvin Gaye and in Shaalta, a piece by Bougaard and Barris. live brass and woodwind accompany a ‘Zulu leader‘ engaged in pre-battle ritual. In the first half. the Blues Brothers is followed by the Indian goddess. Shiva — Union Dance knows no boundaries. (Alice Bain) Union Dance, The Dome, Pilrig Park, Leith
Walk, 225 5756. 21,22 Aug, 3pm; St Bride‘s, Orwell Terrace, Haymarket, 3376331. 22, 23, Aug, 9pm. All tickets £2 (£1.50).
HIBAKUSHA TWILIGHT
The Canadian-based, two-person company Sun-Ergos (it means ‘working together‘) have appeared on the Fringe for five of the past six years. Their latest. world premiere show is a telling, hour-long dramatic performance that unflinchineg embraces the horrorjs of Hiroshima-Nagasaki. Dana Luebke‘s and Robert Greenwood‘s respective abilities in dance and theatre dovetail beautifully against a projected backdrop of nature images juxtaposed with scenes of post-atomic destruction. Both
performers‘ foreheads are Orientally
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high-shaven. Clad in a kimono and virtually rooted to one spot. Greenwood slides mercurially through a non-stop. grief-stricken monologue for a variety of characters (female bomb victim. smug male American warmonger, etc). Meanwhile Luebke. nearly naked save for a Japanese wrestler‘s loin-wrap. dances round his partner with a compelling mix ofphysical clarity. facial serenity and spritual passion. Greenwood is at times too much the actor. and he delivers an honourably intended but inappropriate passage on AIDS. But these are cavils. The duo make earnest use oftheir skills. successfully sustaining a rigorous performance while simultaneously illuminating their subject. which is nothing less than an inventively expressed litany of2()th-century humanity‘s self-inflicted pains and ills. The overall result is sobering. memorable. multi-layered dance-theatre with a message worth imparting. (Denis O‘Toole) Hibakusha Twilight. Sun-Ergos, Chaplaincy Centre (venue 23), Bristo Square, 25-30Aug, 12.30pm. £2.50 (£2).
DANCE TD DEATH
‘You sort of cool down when you die . . .‘ says Sara. daughter ofthe deceased. Not so in the Theatre Workshop where The Kosh live the emotions of bereavement every night for the duration of the Fringe, in what they call a ‘one-act danceplay‘. It‘s hot in there and gets even hotter as the hysteria of grief,
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the disbeliefofdeath and the need to ‘
adjust to loss are experienced on stage.
David Lee is dead, his body in a box and his clothes in a red plastic bag. His daughter. son Joe and Joe‘s girlfriend meet in his flat. Their
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hobble with what seem to be sticks. but turn out to be stretched elastic. Emotions are taut and the music, abstract and built on repetition. sounds like crickets in the heat.
As they shed their coats, the three grasp for the old pre-death normality.
All three performers move with skill and conviction as they shudder with pain, cartwheel and contract. Williams, the lead choreographer (contributions came from the whole company) is particularly expressive, probing the most private corners of emotion. Being witness to griefis never a comfortable experience and The Kosh use jerks and breaks of movement to jar. The introduction of voice into The Kosh‘s work, adds yet another dimension to Telling Tales, this latest piece, though its effectiveness is perhaps diluted by overuse. (Alice Bain) Telling Tales, The K osh, Theatre Workshop, Hamilton Place, 226 5425 (venue 20) Until30Aug, 7.30pm. £3 (£2.50)
HNSTEED
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lnstep is composed of five hardworking young women under the joint direction of Peter Curtis (formerly with Ballet Rambert) and Dale Thompson (erstwhile member of Nikolais Dance Theatre). They offer an energetic hour of six dances which, unfortunately, suffer from a sameness of concept and presentation. Two of the pieces, choreographed by Curtis in a neo-classical vein shot through with modern style, contain isolated moments that are worth watching. But his work is indicative of the areas in which lnstep could improve. All the dances tend to flow so well there‘s nothing for the viewer to hang on to, no images to retain or feelings to be gained. Too often the choice of music is from the somnambulistic airport lounge school of banal background scoring, with riccy-ticcy percussive underpinning. At this stage the dancers are insufficiently stretched by what they‘re given to do. On the other hand, their obvious enthusiasm outweighs their experience, an imbalance these performances will hopefully help to rectify. They’re a likeable company,
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entrance in black is strained as they
: THE JIVING LINDY
the Atlantic.Theleinngndy Hoppers ~ have learned to dance it and its many ‘
. Dancers Anonymous are not trying to
also studioust recreated whole
I and indeed that‘s how they usually ' end their shows, by hauling audience "
deserving ofencour O‘Toole) lnstep Dance Company, _. Chaplaincy Centre (venue 23), Bristo "; Square, 21—30Aug, 2.30pm. £3 ‘ ' (£2.50).
HOPPERS
The Lindy Hop was the original jive dance, born in Harlem‘s hotspots and named after Charles Lindbergh‘s 1927 solo flight across
helzapoppin‘ steps to a ‘t‘.
This small. racially-mixed group of loot-suited, fleet-footed guys and sizzling, swirling-skirted gals is dedicated to the preservation and revivification of the Lindy and other related, black American social dances of the Big Band/Swing era. Since their formation in 1984. the JLH have migrated to New York City to train and perform with surviving masters of the art. They‘ve
Lindy routines by watching old film footage ofjivers in action.
Now all this could be merely academic. It‘s not, thanks to the high-voltage enthusiasm with which they invest everything they do in a performance. They‘re the kind of ‘teachers‘ who can make an audience - want to jump up and learn by doing—
members onstage to join in the El
; happy hey-bop-a-re-bop.
So far the JLH have appeared with T the Count Basie Orchestra and with original Lindy Hopper Pepsi Bethel. Last year they won Time Out magazine‘s street entertainers dance award. Because the group‘s dancers are so well-grounded in Lindy basics they can easily shoot off into dance
' improvisations that keep their ‘:
performances spinning with vital spontaneity. Both collectively and individually they‘re young and just a little raw and it‘s this raw spark that keeps them from fossilising and formalising what they do. i
And what they do is just great. The ' Lindy is both old and very fresh, a i popular dance whose appeal cuts i across racial, class and economic barriers. The JLH have got to be i among its niftiest exponents. (Denis ? O‘Toole)Jiving Lindy Hoppers, The ; Dome, Pilrig Park, off Leith Walk, ‘ 2255756. 25, 26, 28, 29Aug, 3pm. £2 (£1.50).
DANCERS ANONYMOUS
kick the habit. They‘ve only just started. Ifanything. it‘s anonymity they‘d like to avoid. j Though the company title is i veteran to the Fringe with fourteen visits chalked up, the performers change every season and are very young, still students ofdance. For most of them this is their first big-time appearance and taste of tour life. They are tomorrow‘s professionals, hence the name. Though the programme this year is on the lengthy side (eleven pieces in
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The List 22 Aug — 4 Sept 2113