Dance review: Juilliard Dance, Edinburgh Playhouse

By KELLY APTER
Published on 27/08/2012 02:17

WALKING into a theatre to see a student production, you have a certain level of expectation.

Juilliard Dance

Edinburgh Playhouse

Star rating: * * * *

There’s a high probability you’ll find youthful enthusiasm, a medium chance of something new and interesting, and the slim possibility of discovering a rising star.

What you don’t expect, is to find a company of twenty dancers already good enough to walk into any dance organisation in the world. Yes, the youthful enthusiasm is there – Juilliard Dance has that in spades. But on top of that, lies a formidable technique, an ability to interpret the most mature and sophisticated of choreography, and a real drive to entertain.

After a somewhat gentle opening of José Limón’s The Waldstein Sonata, Nacho Duato’s Gnawa came along to show us what this company is really capable of. A true crowd-pleaser filled with intoxicating rhythms, high speed and clever yet accessible movement, this demanded much of the young dancers but was well within their grasp.

So too Alexander Ekman’s surprising and quirky Episode 31, which tapped perfectly into the company’s desire for material as fresh as they are.

This is the first time the Dance Division of New York’s Juilliard School has performed in the UK, but hopefully not the last.