The renowned Edge Dance Company presented us with a selection of four works that combined contemporary dance movements with physical theatre. The use of vocals and breath was prominent throughout and allowed the dancers to embody the movements. Each piece was separated by a quick break allowing the dancers time to breathe and the audience time to digest what they had just seen.

Athina Vahla’s piece Ethics opened the show and brought to life an abundance of political references that were, at times, hard to swallow. The repetition throughout the piece evoked a strong sense of determination from the dancers, and the addressing of individual values and identities was prominent throughout. From this the audience were transported into a lost world created by Tamsin Fitzgerald. Drawing on inspiration from the stories of the Johatsu people in Japan, the piece showcased a variety of physically dynamic contact and floor work that was a delight to watch.

With the interval passing swiftly by we settled back into the auditorium, with lights remaining dimmed a collection of dancers entered the stage. The raw and improvised piece that followed highlighted the dancers spatial awareness and understanding of the relationship between themselves and one another. The absence of background noise and the minimal clothing exposed the dancers in a holistic and organic form.

The show concluded with an all cast exploration of Ben Wright’s Quite Cinematic, working in collaboration with the company, Wright produced a piece that played with movement and emotions. Balletic references featured throughout as dancers became lost in their own worlds, drawing us into their story before throwing us into another.

As quoted by one of the dancers in the post show talk, it is the contemporary dance industry’s job to push the boundaries and challenge the audience. This is exactly what this show did.

Top Image: EDGE Dance Company