The opening night of this year’s Pomegranates Festival of international traditional dance (25-30 April 2025), kicks off with a packed programme of ten short films celebrating traditional dance on screen. Traditional dance is rarely presented through the genre of screen dance, and this exclusively curated programme aims to fill in this gap. It honours multiple types of trad dance styles and diverse cultural heritage traditions, including Scottish Step and Highland, Indian Classical, East African, Chinese, Hip Hop, and Breakdance

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World Trad Dance on Screen 

Friday 25 April 2025, 18:30 (2hrs) Pay What You Can (£5, £10 or £15)

Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1SR

A curated programme of ten short films addressing the global genre gap of traditional dance on screen. Post-screening discussion and Q&A with Scottish Bgirl Emma Ready, Estonian-Scottish filmmaker Mare Tralla and Canadian filmmaker Kes Tagney. 

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The programme includes three diverse films directed by award-winning Canadian dance filmmaker Marlene Millar, Firstly, To Begin the Dance Once More – the newly revised Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland’s first-ever screen dance production exploring Scottish and Egyptian stories of motherhood, featuring choreography by Vincent Hantam, and set to the new epic poem about Beira and Bride (the Queen of Winter and the Goddess of Spring) by Scottish storyteller Donald Smith. 

Secondly, Offering – inspired by traditional dance processions from the Quebec-based Migration Dance Film collective, world-renowned for their innovative use of vocals and body percussive movement.  Offering is directed by Marlene Millar in collaboration with choreographer Sandy Silva with the guest appearance of street dance sensation Omari Motion Carter. And thirdly, Bhairava filmed on the ancient site of Hampi in India, directed by Marlene Millar and Philip Szporer (Mouvement Perpétuel, Montréal) with cinematography by Kes Tagney. 

Kes Tagney’s recent short Home featuring Scottish step dancer Sophie Stephenson accompanied by musician Ronan Martin is also featured in the programme. 

The Bright Fabric of Life directed by Mare Tralla

Other highlights include The Bright Fabric of Life directed by celebrated Estonian artist and filmmaker Mare Tralla; Deer Dancer by Hanna Tuulikki, originally commissioned by Edinburgh Printmakers for Edinburgh Art Festival 2019, explores the construction of masculinity in dance and is inspired by dances said to imitate deer, including the Highland Fling; two breakdance shorts Autocorrect commissioned by Sadler’s Wells and directed by this year’s choreographer-in-residence MC, hip hop dance artist Jonzi D; and Second Guessing by Glasgow Bgirl Emma Ready which explores the harm experienced by coercive control.

Two other rarely screened films include Chinese short Crowned by Flame directed and performed by Lyuxian Yu; and Echoes of a Taiko Drum which was produced by Billingham Festival Director Olga Maloney, and features a unique fusion of Taiko Drums, Georgian, Irish and Indian Kathak Dance.

This 80-minute shorts film programme will be followed by a Q&A with featured creatives, including Scottish Bgirl Emma Ready, Estonian filmmaker  Mare Tralla and Canadian filmmaker Kes Tagney. 

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Iliyana Nedkova, who together with Wendy Timmons is the co-founder and co-curator of the Pomegranates Festival said:  

“I  am very pleased that this year’s Pomegranates Festival’s opening evening show is all about world traditional dance and music specifically devised for the camera, not for the stage. I believe that magic happens where cinematography meets choreography. Following years of curating, judging and producing short dance films and screen dance festivals, I always wondered why we don’t have a dedicated platform for trad dance on screen. Well, while waiting for the dance film festival circuit to create such a platform, we decided to launch our own global programme and perhaps sow the (pomegranate) seeds of world trad dance on screen by selecting some of the best and rarest examples in this emerging new genre.”

Mare Tralla, the Estonian-born and Edinburgh-based artist, as one of the creatives featured in the programme said:

“I can’t wait for the launch on the big screen of the latest Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland’s screen dance production The Bright Fabric of Life at the opening night of the Pomegranates Festival. I designed the set and costumes, shot and edited this new film in the summer 2024 with a great team of creatives using the body language of traditional African dance choreographed specifically for the camera by the esteemed Vincent Hantam. The film tells stories of motherhood and kinship, love and loss from Sub-Saharan Africa and Scotland. Also on the night we will celebrate the paperback release of Mhairi Collie’s book which inspired our film. The book, just like the film, explores the dramatic life story of Sylvie, an Ethiopian patient and Juliet – a Scottish surgeon.”

The dance films featured in the World Trad Dance on Screen programme at the Pomegranates Festival are:   

AUTOCORRECT (2022, Dir. Jonzi D)
Commissioned by Sadler’s Wells and directed and performed by Jonzi D, AUTOCORRECT features three male hip hop dancers from New York, London and Kampala. The short film takes inspiration from the cerebral poetry of Saul Williams, supported by Soweto Kinch’s textured soundscape.

Bhairava (2017, Dir. Marlene Millar and Philip Szporer)
This short evokes facets of Shiva, the Lord of Dance, as both the destroyer of evil and the guardian of time. Carried by a strong and deeply evocative musical score and by the singular energy of the ancient site of Hampi, dancer and choreographer Shantala Shivalingappa embodies the presence and distinctive qualities of Bhairava. With her technical mastery and refined expressivity, she alternates between moments of precise symbolic gestures and more abstract body language surging from the powerful and omnipresent persona of Bhairava, creating a vivid incarnation of the deity.

Crowned by Flame (2024, Dir. Lyuxian Yu)
In this work,  the artist uses cigarette boxes (the world’s smallest drum), fire, and the traditional Ji Guan Headpiece (Cockscomb Headpiece)—key symbols of the Chinese ethnic minority Yi culture—to tell a powerful story about navigating cultural heritage and personal freedom. The performance contrasts black modern props with vibrant, traditional ethnic objects, creating a striking collision between cultural pride and the push for liberation.

Deer Dancer (2019, Dir. Hanna Tuulikki)

This cross-artform project grew from research into traditional dances said to imitate deer – the Yaqui Deer Dance of Sonora and Arizona, the Scottish Highland Fling, and the Staffordshire Abbots Bromley Horn Dance. Each dance conjures the antlered male deer, from the capering fawn to the rutting stag, yet these evocations of ‘wild nature’ are at odds with the reality of vulnerable ecologies. Examining the dances’ relationship to hunting and the impact of colonial, patriarchal forces on their narratives, Tuulikki’s work begins with a question: ‘Is it possible to honour folk traditions sensitively, yet de-stabilise problematic stories?’

Devising her own deer dance in a space between wild-deer-ness and performed male-ness, five archetypal male characters, each played by Tuulikki, dance, pronk, rut, and stalk one another across two screens. Unravelling the striking connections between toxic masculinity and the ecological emergency, Tuulikki’s Deer Dancer is a contemporary life-crisis ritual for a damaged planet.

Echoes of a Taiko Drum (2022, Dir. Olga Maloney)
A new short screen dance and music film, produced by Billingham Festival Director Olga Maloney, featuring a unique fusion of Taiko Drums, Georgian, Irish and Indian Kathak Dance. Winner of the Best Audience Award at the European Short Film Festival in Berlin in 2022.

HOME (2024, Dir. Kes Tagney)

Shot in Scotland and Cornwall, HOME premiered last year at the Inverness Film Festival. It features Scottish step dancer Sophie Stephenson accompanied by musician Ronan Martin. Inspired by Stepheson’s love for Scotland, at its heart is a real sense of belonging and feeling of deep connection with the place you call Home.

Offering (2023, Dir. Marlene Millar)
Using traditional dance procession choreography, Offering creates a meaningful and joyful conversation between the body percussion artists featured in all Migration Dance Film Projects to date and new emerging artists from street, hip hop and gigue dance and circus arts. Special guest appearance by the British hip hop artist OmariMotion Carter. 

Second Guessing (2023, Dir. Emma Ready and Therese Lynch )
Second Guessing investigates coercive control from the victim’s perspective. Emma Ready is a Bgirl, choreographer, and creative educator. During her 25 years of breaking, Emma has established an international reputation as an inspirational, and empathetic motivator. 

The Bright Fabric of Life (2024, Dir, Mare Tralla)

Using the body language of traditional African dance choreographed specifically for the camera, The Bright Fabric of Life tells stories of motherhood and kinship, and love and loss from Scotland and Sub-Saharan Africa. It captures the poignant story of Sylvie – a beautiful Ethiopian girl, whose dreams are destroyed when a disastrous childbirth leaves her broken both emotionally and physically, facing rejection and isolation.

To Begin the Dance Once More (2023, Dir, Marlene Millar)

Four international dancers based in Scotland and Egypt reimagine the mythological world inhabited by the Celtic and Egyptian mothers of Earth. A beautifully compelling and vital piece of storytelling and movement for the screen. Featuring choreography by former Scottish Ballet Principal Dancer Vincent Hantam, and set to a new epic poem about Beira and Bride (the Queen of Winter and the Goddess of Spring) by Scottish storyteller Donald Smith. 

Featured images include videostills from The Bright Fabric of Life directed by Mare Tralla, HOME directed by Kes Tagney and Bhairava directed by Marlene Millar and Philip Szporer (Mouvement Perpétuel, Montréal) with cinematography by Kes Tagney 

The Pomegranates Festival (25 – 30 April 2025) is an annual celebration of new dance theatre and screen dance shows, as well as new productions and residencies. This is the fourth edition of Scotland’s annual festival of international traditional dance, initiated, curated and produced by the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland. It is presented in partnership with TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland), Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Central Library, Dance Base and the Scottish Storytelling Centre. The Pomegranates Festival is funded by Creative Scotland through TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland); the City of Edinburgh Council and University of Edinburgh through the Edinburgh Local Community Fund. For tickets and more information visit https://www.tdfs.org/pomegranates

Established in 2014, Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland is the only national organisation of its kind dedicated to the advancement of all forms of traditional and social dance. It advocates for and supports the diverse Scottish and world trad dance forms practised in Scotland ranging from Ceilidh to Old Time, Swing to Hip Hop as an integral part of our global intangible cultural heritage. It provides free membership to over 250 traditional dance artists and organisations and supports them through three major routes – productions, residencies and festivals such as Pomegranates. A registered charity (SCIO SC045085) and a founding member of Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland (TRACS) www.tdfs.org

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TRACS (Traditional Arts & Culture Scotland) (SCIO, SC043009) is a co-operative network that champions our shared traditions of music, song, storytelling, dance, crafts, customs and local languages. TRACS celebrates the local distinctiveness of Scotland’s places: our intangible cultural heritage. TRACS brings together the Traditional Music Forum (SCIO SC042867), the Scottish Storytelling Forum (SCIO SC052330) and the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland (SCIO SC045085). Supported by Creative Scotland and The City of Edinburgh Council. www.tracscotland.org

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Moray House School of Education and Sport has been making a major contribution to the fields of education and sport for 175 years. Moray House staff, students and alumni have influenced, improved and transformed learning, teaching and policy worldwide. The innovative and unique Master’s in Dance Science and Education gives dancers the scientific theory and specialist skills to push the frontiers of dance and dance education.

Moray House School of Education and Sport

Centre for Research in Education, Inclusion and Diversity (CREID)

MSc Dance Science and Education

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Creative Scotland is the public body that supports culture and creativity across all parts of Scotland, distributing funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery, which, now in its 30th year, has supported over 14,600 projects with more than £501.9 million in funding through Creative Scotland and its predecessor, the Scottish Arts Council. Further information at creativescotland.com and the social media channels on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. More about the value of art and creativity in Scotland at www.ourcreativevoice.scot

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Deer Dancer, 2019

Performed and directed by Hanna Tuulikki
Dramaturgy – Peter McMaster
Movement direction – Will Dickie
Sound composition – Hanna Tuulikki
Sound mix – Pete Smith
Director of photography – Andrew Begg
Edit – Laura Carreira
Costume design – Hanna Tuulikki
Costume fabrication assistance and wardrobe management – Lydia Honeybone
Production management – Amy Porteous

Developed through conversations and interviews with tradition bearers and academics, Felipe Molina (Yaqui tradition bearer/ translator), Larry Evers (American Indian Studies, The University of Arizona), Jack Brown (Abbots Bromley Horn Dance tradition bearer/ historian), Doug and Joyce Gilbert (Trees for Life); by observing a number of dances and participating in rituals, including the Yaqui Deer Dance (Pascua Yaqui Easter ceremonies, Old Pascua, Tucson, Arizona, March 2018), Abbots Bromley Horn Dance (Abbots Bromley, September 2017/2018); and direct learning with Sandra Robertson (Highland Fling), Indalecio ‘Carlos’ Moreno Matuz (Yaqui Deer Dance), Gary Faulkenberry (animal tracking, March, July 2018), Allan Common (deer stalking at Trees for Life, Dundreggan, autumn 2017/2018). 

Commissioned by Edinburgh Printmakers, for Edinburgh Art Festival 2019, supported by Creative Scotland. Research and development supported by Magnetic North’s Artist Attachment, funded by Jerwood Foundation and Creative Scotland. Additional support from Hope Scott Trust, The Work Room, University of Arizona Poetry Center, Trees for Life, University of Glasgow, Glasgow School of Art, and CCA: Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow.