Edinburgh Fringe dance and physical theatre reviews: NOEUD | The Song of a Refugee | Invisible Lover | pAges | In the Bushes | Bella's Ballerinas | False Tongues

DANCE, PHYSICAL THEATRE & CIRCUS

NOEUD ★★★☆☆

Dance Base (Venue 22) until 24 August

The inspirations behind this stylish work from DAB dance company are evident in every creative decision. Based in the Basque Country, an autonomous community straddling the border between France and Spain, their work sets out to address social and political issues. But while the struggle for liberation is writ large in NOEUD’s structure, so too is the work of two Basque artists: abstract sculptor Eduardo Chillida, and fashion designer Cristóbal Balenciaga.

NOEUD from Basque Country dance company DAB | Contributed

Emerging from a small white tent, three dancers are bound together by a large skirt. Despite the elasticated waist, each individual can only move so far, and although their upper body movement is graceful and charming, it’s clear they long for more. As metaphors go, it’s not the most subtle depiction of oppression, but makes for a visually striking image. So too does the next section, when one dancer steps back inside the material structure, which transforms from a humble tent into a vast white skirt. Peering out of the top, like one of Chillida’s torso sculptures, she moves with partial freedom but remains trapped inside the beauty.

If at times, NOEUD allows design to triumph over choreographic content, this is no reflection on the three dancers, who take us on an impassioned journey to freedom.

KELLY APTER

DANCE, PHYSICAL THEATRE & CIRCUS

The Song of a Refugee ★★★☆☆

Assembly George Square Studios (Venue 17) until 25 August

There is an honesty and authenticity to this piece that travels straight to the heart. Performed by MIHR Theatre, Armenia’s first contemporary dance company, the show would look equally at home in a gallery space as a theatre. A mix of movement, visual art, and live song, it gently evokes the longing and sense of loss experienced by those moved unwillingly from their homeland.

Four performers may drive the action, but they’re outnumbered to a considerable degree by stones, which form the centrepiece here. Small, rust-coloured and dusty, these small objects are laid with painstaking delicacy on backs and heads. Or scattered across the stage, then scooped up and swept away, to make the floor hospitable to cross. Larger rocks are banged together, ropes are tied to wrists, and dancers leap into each other’s arms, craving safety.

There are metaphors at play here that can, perhaps, only be felt if you have lived experience of displacement. A little more choreography would also help convey emotion. But there is no denying the power behind the vocals, which ring out from the two female performers. While a sheet of translation would undoubtedly aid connection, pain is inherent in their every word.

KELLY APTER

DANCE, PHYSICAL THEATRE & CIRCUS

Invisible Lover ★★☆☆☆

The Space @ Surgeons’ Hall (Venue 53) until 23 August

Roseline (Jingyuan) Zhang doesn’t believe she was born from a human. “I must be a tree,” she shouts, slicing her limbs into an arboreal, one-legged balance. Such cryptic musings and literal movement mimicry continue for the duration of Invisible Lover, unfortunately reinforcing many people’s assumptions about the nature of experimental performance.

Co-creator Lynn (Zilin) Lui acts like a shadow self to Zhang, sitting opposite her and mirroring her butterfly-like hand gestures, a red balloon floats between them. Scenes in which they interact with it – tangling its string around their feet and squeezing it between their bodies – are some of the most promising, yet their relevance to the professed theme of “identity formation” remains a mystery. “I love you, I hate you, I can’t see you,” Zhang screams, clasping her knees with a lost expression. I leave Invisible Lover feeling similarly bewildered.

EMILY MAY

DANCE, PHYSICAL THEATRE & CIRCUS

pAges ★★★☆☆

Annexe at theSpace @ Symposium Hall (Venue 43) until 23 August

With their monochrome painted faces and costumes, the dancers in Suitcase Dance Theatre’s pAges appear like the sketched diary entries of the main character – a mature dancer who opens the show by leafing through an old notebook – brought to life. Through a series of tap dance, ballet, hip-hop, and jazz-inspired numbers, they use movement to depict her story, from learning to dance to accepting her first contract, getting stuck in an office job to rediscovering her passion.

Some scenes are incredibly literal – cardboard cutouts of skyscrapers are paraded around to signal a city scene, for example, and anxious-faced tap dancers pound their feet rapidly while wearing T-shirts reading “self doubt” and “fear”. Transitions between sections can also be jarring. One minute, the protagonist is gliding through a series of balletic leg extensions to a track from Swan Lake, the next, the full cast is slapping their bodies percussively to Pharrell Williams’ Freedom.

As such, pAges is more successful when viewed as a variety show than a chronological narrative, packed with fun numbers to popular music tracks by everyone from Missy Elliott to Leonard Cohen. While it may be a bit trite for some tastes, the choreography is well executed by committed dancers who deliver big performances despite the small space. If you love the dramatic routines on reality TV show Dance Moms, or just miss attending your siblings’ dance recitals, this show is for you.

EMILY MAY

DANCE, PHYSICAL THEATRE & CIRCUS

In the Bushes ★★☆☆☆

Summerhall (Venue 26) until 25 August

This is the kind of show that falls into the love-it-or-hate-it category. Because an hour of people scampering around the stage, squeaking, shedding their clothes, lip-syncing, pretending to hump each other, crying exaggeratedly and generally acting the fool is either going to raise a smile or leave you longing for the exit. For me it was the latter. Luxembourg-based choreographer Léa Tirabasso has assembled a fun, energetic cast of dancers to execute her vision. And the central premise, that humans and animals are more alike than we think, is undoubtedly worth exploring. But surely there’s a more interesting way of doing it than this?

KELLY APTER

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DANCE, PHYSICAL THEATRE & CIRCUS

Bella's Ballerinas ★★☆☆☆

Big at theSpaceTriplex (Venue 38) until 23 August

At a festival with thousands of shows, it’s unusual to find something new, but here it is: an exotic dance show in pointe shoes. A packed house proves there’s an audience for such an endeavour, so if technically proficient dancers dressed in skimpy underwear (or naked), delivering pedestrian choreography lights your fire, Bella’s your gal.

A verbose voiceover promises a storyline about backstage ballet that never emerges, and every supposed warm-up bend or box split is delivered purely for titillation. These performers are skillful but there’s none of the wit of burlesque, and sadly just a few seconds devoted to the pole, which could have given the show a burst of athletic dexterity.

KELLY APTER

DANCE, PHYSICAL THEATRE & CIRCUS

False Tongues ★★★☆☆

Greenside @ George Street (Venue 236) until 23 August

History is littered with wrongdoings that should never be forgotten, and the scapegoating of women during the 17th century witch trials is most definitely one of them. Although, as Philadelphia-based dance company Britt Fishel and Artists state at the start of False Tongues: “This is not about witches.” Because, of course, it’s just about ordinary women being persecuted for things they didn’t do.

Although the company has centred the piece around the famous trials in Salem, Massachusetts (including some beautifully-shot footage in one of the town’s historic cemeteries), there is a universality about the piece. Three dancers use abstract choreography to evoke the myriad emotions surrounding the accused and the accusers. Fear, religious fervour, confusion, support, distress, gentleness and hopelessness all find their way into the movement, executed with commitment and finesse.

Meanwhile, a back screen not only captures the dancers in situ at the graveyard, but imparts factual information about the hysteria that consumed Salem, and those who paid the price. Inevitably, with a Fringe show in a small space, the production values are relatively basic but this does nothing to lessen the intent. This is a show with its heart firmly in the right place, performed with tenderness and respect for those it depicts.

KELLY APTER

READ MORE: Fringe dance reviews: Inlet | Balfour Reparations | Africa Power: The Colour of Water