(and a half) 

Mother Africa is the circus meets music hall meets Africa. Energetic traditional dance numbers with a few modern twists punctuate the circus-style structure of the show with an impressive live band backing the whole thing. However, it does take the audience a little while to warm to the show due to a misplaced ring master (Mother Africa) performing a lack-lustre introduction that, rather than being met with “hands in the air”, is met with arms folded solidly across chests. 

Social satire, disco party, exercise in disorientation - Figs In Wigs' show 'Food For Thought' is very much worth attending. The ensemble's website states that they "wouldn't go so far as to call it dance … but it's definitely movement," which should serve as a warning to anyone expecting a traditional dance show. On the other hand, if you're interested in shows that are fresh and innovative without too much pretentiousness, then 'Food For Thought' deserves to be at the top of your list.

(and a half)

The bizarrely named Knee Deep is a spectacular display of human strength and acrobatics. The team of four dazzled the audience with lifts, throws and balances which literally had the crowd gasping. 

Flash Mob is a dance show mixing street dance, ballet, Irish and more into one massive show. Each genre gets its turn at centre stage and in the medley dances with all the acts.

Inviting three guest dance companies to share the stage, Booking Dance Festival 2011 in ‘Split Bill’ aims to feed their audience’s appetite for America’s freshest dance talent. Sadly the reality of ‘Split Bill’ left me and many others in the theatre completely unsatisfied.

I’m not a Britain’s Got Talent fan. Sure, I watch the auditions to laugh at the deluded ones but then, when it comes to the live shows, I switch off, literally. My mistake, because I missed Flawless. Wow. Wow, wow, wow.

It was a bit of a luxury getting out of the rain into one of the EICCs grand, air-conditioned auditoriums. It’s nice to feel like an executive in an oversized padded theatre seat, resting the aching feet for an hour or so, watching other people go wild on theirs. It’s intense.

It promised to be the spectacle of this year’s Fringe, the dynamism of parkour brought to the Edinburgh stage. And while the stunts are no doubt impressive, and the bodies on show even more so, there is something that feels a little empty about Free Run.

A dance marathon that’s a bit like They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Professional dancers alongside a bunch of amateurs, grooving along to a foot-tapping band? Great, I thought. Sounds like just the sort of thing I’m in the mood for...watching.

It’s a tale as old as time. Horse meets tiger. Horse considers stabbing tiger to death. Horse realises she’s in love with tiger and embarks on torrid love affair. We’ve all heard it a thousand times before. But somehow Juliet Aster manages to make it seem completely fresh.

In the final instalment of the Booking Dance Festival's extensive programme, ATHLETIC provides yet another astonishing array of world-class contemporary dance.

2012? Apocalypse! Then what? Little would remain in the smouldering landscape, to be sure, beside the odd cockroach, pile of nuclear waste and stray fringe flier. In this Post-Apocalyptic fantasy, civilization itself would have vanished; no more Magic Flute, no more Ninth Symphony. Instead out of the smoke we could expect to see a gallant clutch of Portuguese musicians emerging: ‘Be-Dom’. Looking like they’ve emerged from homeless shelter, the group would take up worn out oil drums, cans and buckets for instruments and start to rebuild music.

Following the story of one young man’s dream to become a footballer, the Zambezi Express shares a story of hope, community, love and spirit in this classic musical piece.

This show entertains and impresses with an energetic and eclectic mix of dance and choreography from six different dance companies consisting of over 30 highly talented dancers.

In association with Edinburgh Mela, Scottish outdoor theatre team Iron Oxide have produced Cargo - a charming mystical story of a young woman’s journey in search of her home. Using the international language of physical performance it explores the basic themes of loss, friendship, conflict and triumph in a charming, at times clumsy, whirlwind through a sea of poncho-clad audience members.

Walking into the beautiful surroundings of Assembly's new venue in Princes Street Gardens feels like escaping out of the madness of the festival into a more tranquil and peaceful kind of world. This delightful setting is perfect for former Cirque du Soleil clown Julien Cottereau and his joyful solo show, Imagine-Toi.

If this show really represents the life and spirit of Brazil, I’d like to purchase a one-way ticket to Rio de Janeiro right now. This incredibly sexy, passionate piece captivates the audience with the kind of rhythm and movement apparently inherent in Brazilians and unheard of in the British.

With six world-class American dance companies taking to the stage with Booking Dance's showcase, Beautiful, it's difficult to know where to begin. Fans of dance will be delighted by the smorgasbord of talent on show, while newcomers to the artform will be able to dip a toe in the water without being overwhelmed.

With over 50 celebrated works under his belt, you’d expect nothing but great things from the Michael Mao Dance group; and you would certainly not be disappointed in the second half of the modern dance performance of Split Bill: LYRICAL, part of the Booking Dance Festival 2010. It was an absolute feast for the eyes and ears, with impressive choreography, skilled dancing and a wide variety of musical pieces.

In association with Sadlers Wells and The Fruitmarket Gallery, Ballet Work No. 1020 is Martin Creed’s most recent commission since his immensely popular Work No. 850 in which he employed runners to sprint through the Duveen Gallery of Tate Britain every thirty seconds. In a similar vein to his previous works, Creed uses a strict formula, in this case the five ballet positions each ascribed a musical note, together with video and humour to create a charming, engaging and astute look at the changing effects of time, speed and direction.

Diversity may have grabbed the headlines, but Flawless, another group of Britain’s Got Talent veterans, are determined to forge something new and exciting on their own terms.

Standing in front of Simon Cowell can be a make-or-break moment for many performers. The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent judge is synonymous with caustic comments and career-ending remarks – so when he says you’re “one of the best acts I’ve ever seen”, you know you’ve got something special.

The Arches @ St Stephen’s
9-31 August, 19.30

That women from the audience felt empowered and secure enough to shed their clothes, stand shoulder to shoulder with the nude cast, clothed members of the audience and join in a gutsy, bellowing rendition of Jerusalem in the show’s finale, is a feat that I have never before witnessed, and testament to the radiance and fortitude of Nic Green’s ‘Trilogy’.

Pleasance Courtyard
7-31 August (ex.17, 24) 14.30

First Class is one of those productions that it is very difficult to review. Imagine, if you will, Alice’s best-friend leaning in and asking, “So, Alice dear, how would you describe Wonderland?” She’d probably reply, “It’s blinking barmy, Emily dear!” and so is this wonderful, daft, warm-hearted show from Lecoq-trained “Half Wit” theatre.

The Arches @ St Steven's
9-31 August, 17.30

The premise of 'Spaceman, 'a lone survivor undergoes evolutionary mutations to find out why he is alive', is at once exciting, but also an awkward and paradoxical concept for one man to physicalise on stage.

Zoo Southside
23-31 August, 10.55

Kooky and involving, this commentary on red tape society and governmental control uses the setting of East Germany to illustrate the evils of government surveillance and defence tactics based on fear.

The Voodoo Rooms
12-23rd August (ex. 17, 18), 22.00

Prepare to be transported to 1930’s Berlin, a world sexy, glamorous and debauched, with dazzling lights and colours, feathers and ribbons, jewelled gloves and fishnets, satin and suspenders.

The Zoo
18-28 August, 19.00

Luxuria, performed by the Scottish Dance Theatre, is utterly beautiful in its story, dress and dance.

New Town Theatre
19, 21, 23 August etc (alternating between their other show Strike) 19.40

Nouvelles Folies is the new show from Fiat Lux, a French "silent Burlesque" theatre company, who blend together mime and slapstick for this hour of physical comedy.

New Town Theatre
5-30 August (ex. 17) 21.30

Lights up. The portly Leygnac comes on stage with a suitcase clutched in his sweaty hand. Snap. He pulls from its shallow depths his lithe, yet momentarily wilted companion Thibaud. Hoisting him onto the piano stool, he starts to crank him up like an old car until he sparks into life with a sudden jolt and begins thumping on the piano’s keys. So kick starts these Frenchmen’s anarchic mime act full of physical humour.

DanceBase @ Out of the Blue Drill Hall
14-27 (ex. 17,24) August, times vary.

There are very few aerialists out there, and the skill itself is so astonishing that any display has great natural appeal.

New Town Theatre
5-30 August, 17:45

Pedal percussion sends vibrations ricocheting through the audience in the New Town Theatre this Fringe. Dubbed as tap’s answer to High School Musical, Tap Kids are bringing their story of high school senior year to life on this, their European leg of their tour.

The Zoo Southside
August 7-31 (ex. 17,24) 16:30

For once, the promotional description of a show is justified. This piece by award-winning dance troupe 2FaCeD is bold, slick and expressive, not to mention athletically stunning.

The Zoo Southside.
7-31 August (ex. 20) 22:30

Purportedly about four youngsters whose friendship fractures when they enter a big city, this physical theatre performance by the Russian group, Rain People, is obtuse and uncohesive, and the acting unconvincing. I can only presume that ‘inventing the sky’ is a dodgy metaphor for attempting to create a paradise in the city.

The Zoo Southside
7th-31st August, 12.50

Painting an apartment stripped of almost everything but the kitchen sink, an ‘i-click’, and a stamp-sensitive light system, Joey and Matt are not an ordinary pair of decorators. Their performance outstrips those generic hip-hop productions, colouring the genre with refreshing, down-to-earth comedy. Imaginative, quirky choreography stylishly transforms their mundane chores.

Assembly @ Assembly Hall
13-31 August (ex. 17,24) 16:30

A polished hour of eclectic dance pieces, C!rca blurs the lines between physical theatre, contemporary dance and acrobatics. The performance is divided into a series of sketches: some are dramatic and emotionally charged, some silly and comedic. All the pieces are stylistically expressed with subtle lighting, projecting eerie shadows of the choreographed movement.

Assembly @ George Street
12-31 August (ex. 17,24) 17.05

Some shows at the Fringe ooze quality and this is one of them – in style, grace and confidence Kataklo investigate Leonadro da Vinci’s passions – machines and the human form in a piece of dance that gripped me from the outset.

C Venues 34
5-31 August, 15.15

If you’re looking for something a bit different, Sweet is a very entertaining production of… something a bit different. Award winning total theatre group, Chotto Ookii, return to the festival with their cynical anti-romcom, blending a mix of physical theatre, puppetry and comedy.

The Traverse
8-16 August, 16:45

My personal experience of dance came to an abrupt end when, aged four, I was escorted howling from my ballet class because I apparently had a horror of “sweeping leaves”. Therefore, it was with trepidation that I discovered I was going to a Dance/ Physical Theatre adaptation of Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death, the story of how a horrific disease (swine flu?!) catches up with a heartless noble and his equally ne’er-do-well friends, having barricaded themselves off from their suffering subjects.

The World @ St George’s West
6-31 August, 21.00

With their relentless energy and irresistable rountines, this dance troupe sets a firework beneath the Fringe ahead of the Bank of Scotland display at the end of the Festival.

Dance Base
6-16th August, 20.30

There isn’t a huge amount to be said about this production, as there is very little movement on the stage; a feature normally fundamental to a dance show. The venue is dark and incredibly hot, but one can’t help but feel that these are not the only factors in the show that may send you to sleep.

Pleasance Dome
5-31 August (ex. 17,24) 16.20

This production was so exceptional that I do not know how to do it justice. One man attempting to depict Homer’s Odyssey is an epic order in itself especially in the constraints of an hour. Cue the ambitious Lecoq trained George Mann, whose multi-faceted performance renders him peerless.

Dance Base, National Centre for Dance
5-16 August (ex. 11), times vary.

Opening skits of drunken chanting as ‘lads’ and childish clapping games are a misleading introduction to this fast paced, sensitive and complex exploration of the events and experiences that shape male relationships. Rapidly shifting mood and tempo, from tender familial interrelations to feverish violence, are combined with exquisite choreography.

The World @ St George’s West
6-31 August, 15.00

Mercy Madonna of Malawi is a lively musical which explores whether or not it is right for a child to be removed from her culture and family to enjoy a life of privilege. While the musical may not be an obvious format for the thought provoking discussion of serious moral dilemmas, the show manages to balance humour with a very real discussion of the issues.

Step it up

Only eight youngsters are chosen each year to perform in one of the most respected tap shows in America, Tap Kids, and now festival audiences can join in too.

And the beat goes on

Bringing the worlds of clubbing and theatre together is easier than you might think, as RAW sets out to prove.