Dance review: Anybody Waitin’?, Dance Base @ Silk Nightclub (Venue 302), Edinburgh

Anybody Waitin’?

Dance Base @ Silk Nightclub (venue 302)

Star rating: * * * *

Especially for those who saw ponydance’s 2010 show, Where Did It All Go Right? Any minute now, somebody is going to burst into the space, and then just about anything could happen.

That person turns out to be Leonie, dressed to kill in high heels and all-in-one short suit. Going straight in with the chat, she tells us that tonight, her mission is to get Paula a man. Her friend, Leonie tells us, has a lot to offer any interested males in the crowd, especially in the chest department.

An hour later, that has very much proved to be the case. Leonie, Paula and their fellow dancers, Bryan and Duane, stand sweaty, exhausted and smiling. While we’re left wondering when we last had so much fun at a dance show (probably the aforementioned 2010 show).

Several costume changes have taken place – some before our eyes, some in the privacy of a pop-up tent (though with a couple of audience members joining them inside) – and a number of seriously good dance routines have been performed. In another context, the mix of street dance, jazz, contemporary and borderline erotic dancing could look a little too mainstream for Fringe tastes.

Yet in the hands of this Belfast-based troupe, it’s sheer entertainment. Peppered as it is with such well-timed, honest, and at times ridiculous comedy, the dancing can be seen for exactly what it is – well choreographed and extremely well performed. Although how they manage to execute such energetic and elaborate moves in such a tiny space is a mystery.

With a soundtrack veering from Stevie Wonder to Robert Palmer, Lady Gaga to Bonnie Tyler (a hilarious duet to Total Eclipse of the Heart), the pace never drops and the fun never stops in this uplifting, Lycra-stretching, high-kicking gem of a show.

• Until 16 August. Today 8pm.