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Fringe previews {DANCE}
CIRCOLOMBIA: URBAN South American acrobats and anecdotes
Their lives may have started in adversity, but when the performers of Circolombia step on stage at this year’s Fringe, it’s as fully-fledged professionals. All the members of the troupe grew up on the streets of Cali in Colombia, facing a daily round of poverty and violence. That is until they won themselves a coveted place at the Circo Para Todos – a professional circus school for disadvantaged children.
Under the tutelage of London-born Felicity Simpson, they grew into world-class performers, prompting her to set up a company to display their abilities, without trading on their past. ‘When Circolombia started, we really marketed their talents and never mentioned poverty,’ says Simpson. ‘Our clients didn’t know where they came from or their personal journeys, they just knew they were Colombian artists.’ New show Urban changes all that. As well as acrobatic
activity, the show also gives voice to the hardships faced by the performers. Not to win our sympathy – far from it – these artists have worked hard to reach such a high standard. ‘When the public goes to see a show, they buy a ticket and
receive something,’ says Simpson. ‘It would be awful if anybody thought, “Oh this comes from a social project and we’re paying a donation.” The performers really struggle to get a place in the school, then face the daily sweat and physical changes their bodies go through during four years of hard training.’ Acts such as ‘The Perch’, in which a performer balances a hula hoop with a girl inside on his forehead, more than prove their skills. But what’s unique about Urban is the stories.
‘We’ve gone back to a time when the artists were irreplaceable,’ says Simpson. ‘In a lot of big productions, the performers are like marionettes. But here, if one artist was missing we’d have to change the show, because it’s about their personalities.’ (Kelly Apter) ■ Assembly Hall, 623 3030, 6-29 Aug (not 15), Noon, £14–£15 (£13–£14). Previews 4 & 5 Aug, £10.
SOY DE CUBA Hot Havana music and song
FORGETTING NATASHA Multimedia and memory on the dancefloor SWIMMING WITH MY MOTHER Tender mother and son duet
Featuring twelve dancers, five musicians and two vocalists, Soy de Cuba is a homage to Cuban music and dance. Unlike most shows from Havana, however, you won’t find a whiff of ‘Guantanamera’ here. Instead, Soy de Cuba uses a brand new score by Cuban composer Rembert Egües, inspired by music of the past and present. Which, in turn, influenced choreographer Dieser Serrano. ‘We used contemporary Cuban dance for the base
of all the movement,’ explains Serrano. ‘And we used old and new styles from Cuba and Africa like salsa, mambo, cha cha, some hip hop and folklore to make a fusion.’ For many people in Cuba, leaving the country to
explore foreign lands isn’t an option. Artists, however, are afforded much more freedom of movement. Meaning that each time Serrano travels abroad, he brings something back.
‘Every time I visit another country, I try to see
everything I can,’ he says. ‘The way people move, how they express themselves, their music – to take something that could be interesting and then put it on stage in my own way.’ (Kelly Apter) ■ Assembly Hall, 623 3030, 6–29 Aug (not 15), 10.30pm, £15 (£12). Previews 4 & 5 Aug, £10.
‘What would happen if you didn’t have memories?’ asks Heather Eddington, artistic director of dance film company State of Flux. ‘You would almost disappear, because essentially we base ourselves on what we’ve done and where we’ve been.’
A combination of her fascination with memory, along with witnessing her grandfather’s struggle with Alzheimer’s, led Eddington to create SoF’s latest multimedia collaboration, Forgetting Natasha.
The piece weaves dance, digital animation and
poetry into a story about a woman coping with the onset of early dementia. Along with poet Anna Mae Selby, Eddington gathered real memories from the three dancers, which were then fed back into the narrative. ‘We gave them lots of questions and then sent them off to speak into dictaphones. Everything that you hear is true.’
Eddington credits her collaborative style to having artistic parents. ‘I don’t ever think “dance is what I do and that’s what I should use”,’ she says. ‘I’m much more open to thinking about the topic I want to look at and what mediums I need to achieve that with the best expression.’ (Lucy Ribchester) ■ Zoo Southside, 662 6892, 7–27 Aug (not 10, 17, 24), 12.30pm, £12 (£10). Preview 6 Aug, £6.
F E S T I V A L
David Bolger, director of the Irish CoisCéim Dance Theatre, is returning to the Fringe with a show that promises to resonate with tender, loving memories. Bolger grew up by Dublin Bay: ‘I was taught to swim by my mother, Madge, before I could walk. I wanted to explore the idea of the gift she’d given me, and our deep bond both in and out of the water.’ Bolger also longed to dance with his mum onstage. Although Madge has attended dance workshops for older people, a bout of stage fright aged three put her off a professional career. ‘And here she is 74 years later performing again,’ he says. ‘It shows that one should never say never in life.’ Mother and son shaped the work together in an exchange of mutual listening and learning. Bolger describes the show as ‘a natural, unforced, documentary piece that uses our shared swimming life as a metaphor of life itself.’ The soundtrack blends interviews with both Bolgers with sea sounds and some smooth vocals by Nat King Cole. Creating it has been liberating for Bolger, who adds, ‘I think it strikes a chord with people about their own relationship with their parents.’ (Donald Hutera) ■ Dance Base, 225 5525, 6–21 Aug, (not 8, 15), times vary, £7. Preview 5 Aug, 3pm, £5.
4–11 Aug 2011 THE LIST 47