Stereoscopic Trilogy 2
Dance Base
Four stars
We've perhaps become a tad blasé about 3D, but Billy Cowie's dance works in Stereospcopic Trilogy 2 yet again use the technology to tease our perceptions of what's real and what's virtual - and how that feeds into reflections, not just on dance but on how we read and map our daily experiences. Jacqueline Mitchell is the live dancer in both Art of Movement (extracts) and Dark Rain.
But once our 3D glasses are on, she seamlessly enters an other-worldly realm alongside a virtual dancer. Precisely timed actions become more than choreographic demonstrations, they're a dialogue in (and across) other dimensions. This interaction is at its spookiest in Jenseits, where two screens simultaneously show a virtual Oxana Panchenko on a ladder seen through shifting monochrome patterns: the same, but also different, like echoes of a self in the here and now, or maybe in the here-after. Afterwards, the urge to pinch yourself is irresistible.
Ours Was The Fen Country
Dance Base
Four stars
Ours was the Fen Country is an elegiac witness to a community whose way of life, like the land itself, is shrinking under their feet. The words used in Dan Canham's piece come from Fen-landers themselves, their recorded voices giving rise to a minimal choreography that has an unfussy, gritty stamp to it, because to flounce about or get over-folksy would betray the humour, the ache for what's being lost and the harsh beauty of the landscape that all colour the anecdotes they share.
There We Have Been
Zoo Southside
Four stars
Anyone who saw James Cousins's duet, Jealousy, during Scottish Ballet's Dance Odysseys will detect a kinship with There We Have Been. Again, the man never lets the woman's feet touch the floor: but while he can support her in a myriad of inventive ways, he can't control her moods, her yearnings or her need to be self-determining. Aaron Vickers and Lisa Welham simply beggar belief with their stamina, expressive artistry and grippingly unhistrionic portrayal of a doomed relationship.
Duet
Zoo
Three stars
It's short - under half-an-hour - but Duet by h2dance punches above the weight of many works twice as long, with its funny yet savage, analysis of what keeps couples (and dance-makers Hanna Gillgren and Heidi Rustgaard) together despite different temperaments and self-obsessed egos.
All runs ended
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article