DANCE BASE Ouartet of dance gems O...
Dance-lovers could spend an entire day at Dance Base and emerge aesthetically richer. Venue director Morag Deyes has again assembled a splendidly varied and solidly four-star, four-show programme. Exquisite Indian Dance, the label of the most classical performance, doesn‘t lie. In Varsha (Monsoon), the more traditional of two weather-based pieces,
Kathak practitioner Aditi Mangaldas couples great technical virtuosity and
playful emotional expression. Her stamping tremors and whirlwind spins are exhilarating. Winter is a more abstract work, Mangaldas exploring not just a season but a state of being. Odissi dancers, Bijayini Satpathy and Surupa Sen are an enchanting double act of gem-like precision and blessed curvaceousness. Satpathy in particular has such a seductive
pussycat smile you can‘t help but smile too. Her almost unbearable beauty and fabulous artistry are underlined in an episode from an epic narrative in
which she embodies the heroine, all the male characters and a demon
given to disguises.
Ripe is a paean to four contemporary soloists for whom maturity is a boon rather than a hindrance. Leggy, angular Ellen van Schulenburch resists the tense, throbbing score of Silence, carving her space with superb and serene concentration. Taking its ironic cue from poignant German lieder, American dance-maker, Stephen Pelton's fascinating Hurdy-Gurdy Man stylises Hitler’s body language (culled from documentary footage) into a thing of terrible beauty. Gary Lambert‘s utterly watchable Degrees of Freedom is all swivelling reaches and twisting weight shifts, while Namron‘s short and simple Missing stems
from a personal sense of loss.
Two Scottish companies hold their own. The triple-bill by Allan Irvine’s hip hop-based Freshmess builds in strength from a fun, if slight, group ice-breaker to an impish and syncopatory male duet. The finish is an absolute blast, an ensemble piece that made me so happy I almost cried. These dancers, like those in Scottish Dance Theatre (represented by a
smart, modern and thoroughly user-friendly double—bill) marry deceptively effortless skills and immensely likeable personalit
Some highly palatable Raw Beef
ies. (Donald Hutera)
oigiastit, g‘yiations on a (3 Titlillt] fail to illuminate
the; i‘titltlfrtlilOH. It art. like genius. if; 9‘.) perspiration. then she's on to something. Or
maybe she's Just banking on the possibility that we all need a little Shakti sometimes. (Eli/abeth Schwy/eri
I The Garage, 22! 9009. until 30 Aug. 7.45pm (The Shaman); 9pm ilOUl Nights). 5‘10 (579/.
BELLYDANCE BANQUET Eat to the beat 00..
Looking at Lorna Gow's undulating flat stomach may not inspire you to fill yOur own, but the food on your plate certainly WI”. This unique Fringe show combines excellent bellydancing With a three-course Moroccan lunch, plus a little dance histony thrown in for good measure. Gow is a superb exponent of Arabic dance. and fills the gap before. between and after our food Wllti dynamic ItllprOVlsathllS. Dressed in an array of gorgeous skirts. bikini tops and dresses. each more seguin-encrusted than the last. Gow finally ihyites us to burn off some calories by pining in — and the whole restaurant complies. iKelly Apter;
I Morocco Wa/ima. 652 3764. until 29 Aug,
72. 75pm, £72 (£9).
NEXT ISSUE OUT
TIEMPO DE TANGO
Hot Argentinean nights 00.
Tie/ripe [)e lango seeks to shon‘rcase the many facets; of the world"; most passionate dance for the digital ago While the spectacle incorpoiates multimedia technology to l)t()( luce occasional natty kaleidoScopit, layer‘. of colour and lll().’(:llll:lli. a projected backdrop of slea/y Buenos Aire‘, street scenes doe‘; little to enhance what's happening onstage. The live performance itself features the odd shift in mood, from the purely melodramatic to more playful or melancholic uegiiieinu. And tt’iere's an enjoyable send-up of the rigidity and conformity of certain Choreography. Overall. thOtigh there's too little ‘JBTIBT/ in this One—and- a-half hour show to Justify its original premise. (Allan Radcliffe: I C, 0870 707 5705. until 30 Aug, 2. 30pm. £8.50 (LEGO—$36.50).
THURSDAY 26 AUGUST
‘ 9—26 [*le 2394 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 43