Review by Yanmei Bowie I went to see the sensational Legend of the White Snake four times at C ARTS in Edinburgh, performed by Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre from Beijing, China. With a history of over six hundred years, kunqu evolved from a music and vocal style local to Kunshan (near Suzhou and Shanghai in China), … Continued

Review by Yanmei Bowie I went to see a dance show titled HuXi/Breath at Paradise in Augustines in Edinburgh, created by Glory Global Dance Centre from China. It says on the programme that it is ‘an immersive dance masterpiece blending Chinese Qi and Yin-yang, fusing traditional rhythms with modern dance’. It’s forty-five minutes long, and … Continued

Review by Vassia Bouchagiar – Walker There is a sense of intrigued expectation as we wait for the performance of Futuristic Folktales to start. To everyone’s surprise director Charlotte Mclean, along with her two performers Orrow Bell and Seke Chimutengwende, take to the stage in full bright white light in order to introduce themselves and … Continued

Review by Inesa Vėlavičiūtė Returning to the Edinburgh International Festival after the mesmerising 2022 performance of Samsara, acclaimed artist Aakash Odedra presents another spiritual dance piece, this time delving into an ancient Sufi myth about a captured songbird bulbul. Created in collaboration with choreographer Rani Khanam and composer Rushil Ranjan, Songs of the Bulbul seamlessly … Continued

Review by Yuxi Jiang Futuristic Folktales is an experimental dance theatre piece that explores bold ideas around the body, sound, and traditional culture, and themes of reproduction, identity, and the cycles of life. Created by Charlotte Mclean in collaboration with Orrow Bell and Seke Chimutengwende, the performance is described as ‘a dance of hope’. Combining … Continued

Review by Yuxi Jiang Watching Grupo Corpo was undoubtedly one of the highlights of my experience at the Edinburgh Festivals this summer. The contemporary Brazilian dance company, founded by Paulo Pederneiras in 1975, continues to innovate over time, establishing its own unique theatrical language and choreography. Through a double bill featuring Gil Refazendo and Gira, … Continued

Review by Catherine Coutts Grupo Corpo is a family affair.  Artistic Director Paulo Pederneiras founded the company – which includes five of his siblings – in 1975, and it is brother Rodrigo who has choreographed the two pieces in this programme: Gil Refazendo and Gira, both grounded in classical ballet and Brazilian folk dance.  The … Continued

Reflection by Alena Shmakova On the 3rd and 4th of August, Inch House Community Centre hosted a weekend of historical dancing from the Victorian period (1838-1901), led by USA-based expert Susan de Guardiola. Historical or early dance is a dance style based on written descriptions from earlier periods, as opposed to reconstructing dances from the … Continued

Review by Catherine Coutts As Greek dancer Vassia Bouchagiar-Walker moves lithely onto the floor at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, her task is not an easy one. The audience – largely Scottish traditional music afficionados – are there for the preview of Mairi Campbell’s Living Stone exhibition. They have already been sitting for forty minutes on … Continued

How do we encourage collaboration and exchange across all traditional dance forms practised in Scotland? The short answer is that we, at Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland, offer support through three major routes – festivals, productions and residencies. Let’s zoom in on the range of residencies as one of these support routes we initiate, champion … Continued