DANUE I [INNS
Phoenix Dance Company
One of Britain ’5 hottest dance exports.
Origins Founded in 1981 by former classmates in tough, inner-city Leeds.
Energy source Ten-strong troupe (five men, five women) with a passion for moving. And for each other — two couples are married.
Trademark moves Highly varied, always accessible kinetic action from dancers with bodies like lethal weapons.
Past glories Olivier Award nomination, 1990; Digital Dance Award, 1993; name-dropped on Roseanne, 1996.
Achilles heel A repertory that doesn't always tap the dancers' full potential.
Sex appeal? It isn’t just audiences who find Phoenix attractive — see above.
Keep your eyes open for . . . Ricardo '6’ Goodison and Melanie Teall — mutual lust on legs in Diction.
18 THE LIST 20 Mar—2 Apr 1998
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In a season aiming to bury traditional images of tutus and tights, some of the world's most exciting dance troupes are heading for Edinburgh. These are the vital statistics behind the star attractions of Dance Turns. Words: Donald Hutera
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Nederlands Dans Theater II
The talented junior ensemble of one of Europe’s most established modern dance troupes.
Origins Founded in 1978 by ’pure dance' kingpin Jiri Kylian.
Energy source Feeding into the parent company are fourteen multi-national dancers.
Trademark moves Slick athletic ingenuity from the fittest young flesh.
: Past glories Kylian’s own fluid, full-bodied work and
the sense of experimentation in the choreographers he hires.
Achilles heel The way the home-town team has turned Kylian into a god who can do no wrong. Sex appeal? Plenty, thanks to non-aggressive, exacting, youthful glam.
: Keep your eyes open for . . . The new dance by prize-winning, English-born Kylian protege Paul . Lightfoot.
DCA - Philippe Decouflé
France ’5 premier dance-theatre magician returns with
Shazaml, a sophisticated souffle of live performance
and film-video technology.
Origins Launched in 1993, the year young, mime- loving Decouflé won first prize at the prestigious : Bagnolet choreographic competition.
' Energy source Heironynmous Bosch? Lewis Carroll?
Jules Verne? Busby Berkeley? Trademark moves Spellbinding juxtapositions of
fabulous imagery.
. Past glories Opening/closing ceremonies of the 1992 T Winter Olympics; Decodex, a magic cocktail of
choreographed circus-theatre, 1995.
Achilles heel Fancy but empty and commercial. MTV meets MGM.
Sex appeal? Oui, et surreal.
Keep your eyes open for... A seductive cascade of cine-stage-poetry.