Dance Review: And the Birds Did Sing, Dance Base, Edinburgh

The title of this poignant new show from Scottish dance company Curious Seed came to choreographer Christine Devaney during what she calls “a challenging but beautiful moment”

Christine Devaney performing And the Birds Did Sing. Picture:EIF

And the Birds Did Sing, Dance Base, Edinburgh ****

It’s a reflection on how, regardless of what’s happening in our own lives – be it joyous or tragic – life goes on around us.

Devaney performs alone but her stage is filled with personalities. Firstly, the real ones that helped create the show: composer Luke Sutherland whose utterly gorgeous music evokes all manner of emotions; and visual artist Yvonne Buskie whose set design is a fascinating and subtle mix of decay and order. Scrunched up bits of paper are strewn across the floor alongside pieces of broken bricks, while suspended from above are three large paper structures, reminiscent of both giant wings and a row of tenement flats.

It’s in one of these flats that ‘Birdie’ resides, a fictional character Devaney introduces us to. Living alone on the top floor, Birdie feeds the bird from her window box, but it’s a reciprocal relationship – they feed her stories from people’s lives in return.

She’s depicted as one of the people from Devaney’s childhood, and even though we know it’s not real, there’s something about the memories that Devaney threads through the piece that feel carved from her own heart. Because woven into this fairytale-like story are hints at the scars and imprints of life we all pick up – the grief of losing someone, the touch of a lover, the uncertainty of change.

All of this finds its way into Devaney’s delivery, be it through dialogue or choreography. Her torso stretches back at the memory of being in love, fingers fluttering like feathery wings against her neck, using the sculpture of her body to embellish the beauty of her words.

Until 11 August

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