2008 at DanceBase: previously published in The Skinny

Beatbox Bingo (photo: Kavanagh)

Think dance is for the weak? Gareth K Vile checks out the toughest gangs in town.

EVENT REVIEW BY GARETH K VILE.

PUBLISHED 10 AUGUST 2008

The third of Dancebase’s mixed bills features a long work from Norway’s Odd Johan Fritzoe and a jittering remix from Rosie Kay. Both of these works display technical perfection, ferocious technique, edgy energy and relentless force: as a double bill, it is exhausting just to watch.

The brutality of Frtitzoe’s Balls sees four dancers - two of them breakers - hurl themselves around four different sized balls. Reminiscent of some extreme sport, it is masculine, rugged and violent: by the end, one dancer is being sacrificed by the others, following a cartoon-like chase over the set. The harsh music, the stark colours, the non-stop movement all make this a frightening pleasure - a visual interpretation of hardcore techno, or a dance version of mountaineering. The delight is in the technique, which does not sacrifice emotion. There is a real sense that Balls is uncovering dark rituals behind apparently playful masculine behaviour.

Rosie Kay’s Double Points: K is equally hard-hitting, although the moments of ballet and Bach only serve to heighten the ferocity of the extreme electro against which they are set. A duet, it sets the two dancers in opposition, thrusting them to the further edges of physical possibility. A harsh soundtrack, an achingly fast pace, and juddering switches between styles and forms, Double Points: K is breath-taking and alarming: a real and vicious thrill.

Together, these two works are savage: this programme questions any attempt to call dance effete or weak. The dancers are precise and hard, the choreography demanding and the music bitter. It is one of the most exciting hours possible on the whole Fringe.