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great chemistry. You don’t get much more flamenco than that. (Ellie Carr) ■ C Plaza, 0845 260 1234, until 30 Aug (not 17), 7.15pm, £9.50–£11.50 (£6.50–£8.50).
ROAM Fast-flowing contemporary dance laced with breakdance and martial arts ●●●●● Tom Dale Company returns to the Fringe with a piece loosely based on the human impulse to ‘roam’. The rising choreographer presents an hour of contemporary dance that, like its title, never stops moving. There is no set or narrative. Rather Roam is fuelled by a soundtrack that takes in pulsing sub-bass beats and the scream of rush-hour traffic.
The movement comes in satisfying waves, five watchable performers hurtling through some imaginary urban landscape, navigating the shifting dynamics of city life. At times the dominant and familiar smooth, near- jointless fluidity threatens to become tedious. But when Dale really responds to the music, the effect is electric. In the second half he triumphs by engineering a marriage of contemporary with subtle breaking and robotics, lending dancers’ limbs the quality of recoiling steel. (Ellie Carr) ■ Zoo Southside, 662 6892, until 30 Aug (not 12, 13, 17 & 24) 4.20pm, £10 (£8).
RHYTHMS WITH SOUL Foot-stomping romp through flamenco history ●●●●● On posters Venezuelan-born flamenco dancer Miguel Vargas appears smouldering and bare-chested. But unlike paparazzi-friendly contemporaries such as Joaquin Cortes he is no peacock, all baby-oil and no substance. There is strut aplenty. There is simmer, as he and his show-stopping eight-strong band (incorporating cello and flute with traditional flamenco elements) build improvised rhythms to near unbearable crescendo. But though highly practised, with human tornado Vargas it all seems pretty raw – his rapid-fire footwork and barely- contained passion seem evoked from some deep, ancient place. The new vehicle Rhythms With Soul, which premieres here, is more rehearsed. A colourfully costumed journey from Flamenco’s gypsy roots to stage- friendly present day it features a series of heavily stylised contemporary- flamenco fusion sequences. The potted flamenco history angle is nothing new and there are more sophisticated flamenco modernisers
out there. But this is fun, be-frilled and has the crowd on its feet by second night. (Ellie Carr) ■ New Town Theatre, Freemason’s Hall, 220 0143, until 29 Aug (not 17) 3.50pm, £11–£13. CONTINENT Barton finks too much ●●●●●
There’s something curiously retro about this little piece, from the tight- fitting, slightly shiny suits worn by its performers to the old fashioned world of typewriters and briefcases it conjures up. Perhaps, as the young Japanese company claim to have been inspired by the Coen Brothers’ 1940s-set film Barton Fink, that shouldn’t have come as a surprise: fans of the noir-y, gory excesses of that film, however, should prepare themselves for something altogether more gentle.
A thinly-stretched plot appears to tell the story of a novelist looking for explanation, and these sequences can lead to slow interludes within what is otherwise a frantic, sweetly silly piece of mime performed by an exceptionally charismatic cast. There are some great slapstick set pieces (mostly taking place within the writer’s own imaginary world), but ultimately not enough to sustain the running time. Letting the cast go freeform might have proved a better showcase for their skills. (Kirstin Innes) ■ C Chambers Street, 0845 260 1234, until 30 Aug (not 16), 7.20pm, £8.50–£10.50 (£5.50–£9.50).
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12–19 Aug 2010 THE LIST 55
BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS And baby makes three . . .
Regardless of how many books you’ve read or films you’ve watched, parenthood hits you like a brick through a window. For most new mothers, the only outlet for your shell-shock is snatched conversations with other walking wounded. But choreographer Liv Lorent has been able to share her experiences of those hazy first weeks with a newborn with a wider audience in Blood, Sweat and Tears. Lorent admits to finding the subject of motherhood ‘tedious’ until two
years ago, when a whole new appreciation for it was born along with her son. ‘Upon having a baby I knew what effort was all about in quite a new way,’ she says, ‘and everything from labour onwards is beautiful but mucky – it’s literally blood, sweat and tears.’ One of Britain’s most engaging and thought-provoking choreographers,
Lorent’s latest work captures the tired isolation felt by so many new parents, and the fundamental changes that take place in their relationship. ‘When your arms are full of your baby, they can’t be full of your partner’s
embrace – and how do you adjust to that?’ she says. ‘It changes everything – physical affection, sexual intimacy – it’s interrupted in such a dramatic way, and yet it’s such an ordinary experience. Blood, Sweat and Tears isn’t just autobiographical, the same thing happens to so many of us in different variables – the same arguments, the same joys and the same loneliness.’ (Kelly Apter) ■ Zoo Roxy, 662 6892, 13–21 Aug (not 17), 1pm, £10 (£8).
TAP OLE Tap dance meets flamenco guitar with a sprinkling of razzle dazzle ●●●●●
If you like your flamenco music served with fury and furrowed brow this is not the show for you. This is flamenco music with a Broadway smile: the usual simmering passions and castanets of the proud flamenca replaced with jazz arms and a volley of ball-change and shuffle. Seen in 2007, this successful show
returns with pretty much the same format. Two accomplished Spanish guitarists and two tap dancers fuse styles in one cheery package with a crowd-pleasing Sand Dance for measure. At first the sight of showbiz smile paired with flamenco stance jars. But if you can get over the mismatch
there is much to enjoy.
Flamenco’s foot stamping is not so far from tap’s percussion: here the dancers’ virtuoso steps add rich new layers of rhythm to the heart-tugging melodies of acoustic guitar. Dazzling smiles apart, there is simplicity in the staging. Two dancers, two musicans: