First came the whistles, then the drums. Seven assorted-size dancers marched through the foyer twirling batons, looking very pleased with themselves in orange majorette outfits and unnecessarily high furry busbies. Cameras flashed as coats and drinks were gathered up and a happy throng followed them into the auditorium. Pity the poor folk in the upstairs […]

2012 saw the loss of two greats of the last two decades of British dance – Gill Clarke and Nigel Charnock, both radically different from each other, but each carving distinctive careers as performers before expanding into choreography and beyond. With Dance Umbrella 2012 dedicated to the memory of both, it is fitting to see […]

A classic circus of (seeming) incompetence, a trampolining suicide bomber, and an abstract promenade dance for waterfronts – Edward Taylor at this year’s Mintfest Billed as their latest performance, Circus Ronaldo’s Amortale, presented at this year’s Kendal Mintfest in the company’s own tent, was not so much new as a re-working of their classic Fili show with a […]

A three-way reflection on h2dance’s Say Something Say Something, a production by contemporary dance company h2dance, takes a close look at the nature of freedom of expression through dance and music. Ushered into the performance you walk into an intimidatingly empty and open room. No seats mean that the audience meander around the centre of […]

Silvia appears at the back of the stage, against the blacks, head down, tugging at the hem of her brightly coloured, tight fitting, slinky little dress. Too little, perhaps, for her generous frame and a cause of consternation as she ripples her body through a dance that is anything but routine. She moves effortlessly and […]