DANCE | Previews & Reviews 108 THE LIST 16 May–13 Jun 2013
CONTEMPORARY DANCE/MARTIAL ARTS SUTRA Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Fri 17 & Sat 18 May
As a young boy, Ali Thabet was fascinated by Kung Fu. So, it’s no surprise to hear him say that spending three months in the Shaolin Temple, with some of the finest martial artists in the world, was an ‘incredible and unique’ experience. Belgian dancer Thabet travelled to China five years ago, to help acclaimed contemporary choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui create Sutra, and after a successful run in 2008, the work is finally coming to Scotland. Performed by Thabet and 17 Buddhist monks aged
10–26, the show blends lightning-fast martial arts with contemporary moves and an innovative set design by Antony Gormley. Wooden boxes, reminiscent of coffins, are jumped on, climbed into and pushed over by the monks in a display of physical dexterity and precision. Sitting alongside them, are tiny model versions, which the youngest monk plays with during the show.
‘We built the little boxes so we could quickly assemble an idea of how we wanted the big boxes to look,’ explains Thabet. ‘But then the little monks started to play with them as if they were Lego; and the older monks used them to share their ideas for the show with us. So we realised we needed to use those little boxes in our telling of the story.’ Just as the small boxes made it into the production after
being used in rehearsal, Thabet and Cherkaoui’s relationship with the monks is also reflected on stage. Throughout the show, Thabet is somehow ‘other’; at times coming close to the monks and sharing their world, then finding himself very much the outsider. ‘We had that same experience in the temple,’ explains Thabet. ‘And although Sutra is filled with metaphors and symbols about many things, it’s also about our experience during those three months we spent there.’ (Kelly Apter)
REVIEW BALLET HIGHLAND FLING Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Wed 22–Sat 25 May ●●●●●
It’s a coup for Scottish Ballet to be the first company to perform a full-length Matthew Bourne piece outside his New Adventures troupe. But no doubt there’s pride for the choreographer too, in having his urban-fantasy Glasgow vision embraced by Scotland’s national ballet. Indeed, Bourne’s trademark Gothic kitsch blends perfectly with a tartan twist: blood red tartan walls and garish acid shades belie the ballet’s original production date of 1994, a time when it was acceptable to wear a green tartan suit in public. Highland Fling updates 19th century ballet La Sylphide to modern Glasgow. On their wedding
night, James (Christopher Harrison) is tempted away from his bride and into an enchanted forest by a Sylph (Sophie Martin). Bourne’s choreography draws not only on classical ballet but the storytelling body language of slapstick and mime, bringing his characters spinning off the stage and into our hearts. Flashes of Highland dance appear in bars (male legs standing in for swords), while this version
of a fairytale forest is a suburban wasteland peopled by impish fairy-winged Goths who pump their hearts feverishly at James as he dances with his Sylph. But there’s an ugly twist to James’ fantasy escape, and the arch melodrama of all that has gone before makes the gruesome climax all the more poignant. In a ballet that will appeal to lovers and non-lovers of the form alike, Bourne gives us a true fairytale in all its dark beauty. (Lucy Ribchester)
CONTEMPORARY DANCE/VISUAL ART SIOBHAN DAVIES DANCE: EVERY DAY Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, Mon 10–Fri 14 Jun
A table, a chair, an umbrella and a stool: objects we come across on a daily basis. But a new exhibition is asking us to look at those objects, and others, with fresh eyes. Not only that but a live element will encourage visitors to re-evaluate basic bodily movement which most of us take for granted. Every Day will feature the work of six Scottish sculptors who were asked to create pieces
inspired by our daily routines. Responding to the same brief is choreographer Siobhan Davies, who has created a solo work for dance artist Helka Kaski. Both the artworks and Kaski’s performance will share the same space, and Davies is aware that creating the right environment for visitors is paramount to Every Day’s success. The engagement Davies has in mind is fascinating. As they walk around the exhibition, Kaski
will ask visitors to help her stand up; not by physical assistance, but by talking her through the process, thereby forcing them to focus on a hugely complex movement they do every day without thinking.
'Each person will ask Helka to do it in a different way, and she will respond only as that person requests,’ explains Davies. ‘It becomes a wonderful, head-scratching conversation between the two of them on how they’re going to help each other achieve this movement. It takes a while, but once she stands up, there’s a real sense of satisfaction for both of them.’ (Kelly Apter)