Review by Alena Shmakova
After the double bill of The Flock and Moving Cloud by Scottish Dance Theatre concluded, my neighbour exhaled, ‘Well, that was strange!’ Cramped seats in the Fringe venue, Zoo Southside, made it easy to overhear conversations, though he was reading my mind. So why was it strange for me?
The Flock, a creation of the internationally acclaimed choreographer Roser López Espinosa in collaboration with the company dancers, is a piece that draws inspiration from the migrations and flight of birds. The chosen movements, the white and sky-blue background, and the dancers’ glaucous-coloured costumes all reflect this theme. The opening sequence, featuring nine dancers mimicking a flying goose wedge, was somewhat repetitive but effectively evoked the image of migrating birds. The dramatic conclusion, with dancers collapsing sharply in darkness, poignantly reminded the audience of the perils faced during these arduous journeys.
The second movement diverged from bird aesthetics, instead challenging the concepts of motion and stillness. The dancers’ transitions between total body relaxation and sharp tension, executed so subtly that they seemed almost boneless, were mesmerising. The eye managed to catch various movements brought to The Flock‘s dance realm, from yoga, gymnastics, and martial arts. The most captivating element for me was the reconstruction of murmuration in the final movements of The Flock. In this biological phenomenon, birds form large, synchronous groups without clashing or falling. Beginning in silence, the dancers moved in unison like a flock, shifting formations and speeds without musical cues. The sheer complexity of this choreography left me in awe. And then, in the end, the dancers flew off against an evening sky backdrop; the performance feels like a harmonious and fascinating blend of movement, design and storytelling.
Moving Cloud, choreographed by Sophia Nappi, leaves a more confused impression. The costumes nod to historical fashion, with linen chemises, elements of filleadh beag and Victorian-style tops. The music composed by Donald Shaw and recorded by the traditionally rooted band TRIP was also inspired by traditional style. These elements contrast sharply with a modern nightclub-like atmosphere created by dark stage design, smoke and the prevalence of group choreography, which possibly appeals to younger audiences. Though there were nods to Scottish traditional dance, the overall impression is one of exaggerated, excessive movements, performed technically superbly by the dancers whose bodies respond to the music from fingers to toes. The choreography is set to energetic but seamlessly flowing into one another jigs and reels, making the piece difficult to separate and analyse. It is a moving cloud that changes and shifts. Such intensity is interesting to watch as a choreographic experiment, but the concluding sensation is noisy and disorienting, which gave me that strange aftertaste my neighbour expressed.
*
This review is published by Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland as part of our Traditional Dance Criticism Course, led by dance writer and editor Róisín O’Brien and supported by dance scholar and editor Dr Wendy Timmons.
Alena Shmakova was one of the six applicants, alongside Yuxi Jiang, Catherine Coutts, Vassia Bouchagiar-Walker, Inesa Vėlavičiūtė and Yanmei Bowie, who were selected to participate in this pilot edition of the course in 2024.
The Flock and Moving Cloud double bill was performed at Zoo Southside, Edinburgh 13-25 August 2024 as part of International Festival Fringe. It was one of the shows with trad dance roots across the Edinburgh’s summer festivals we hand-picked to review. Images courtesy of Tiu Makkonen, Brian Hartley and Scottish Dance Theatre.
Please find further details about our #traddance campaign at Edinburgh summer festivals here
