The Scotsman Sessions #415: Scottish Dance Theatre
Many years ago, watching Scottish Dance Theatre at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, I observed a French couple turn to each other in confusion at the end. “Danse écossais?” they wondered aloud, clearly expecting something more akin to Highland dancing from one of our national companies. Which, of course, couldn’t be further from Scottish Dance Theatre’s bold, exploratory, contemporary output set to a wide range of music.
Should that couple return to the Fringe this year, however, their desire for tradition might be sightly more satiated, albeit it in a wonderfully forward-looking way. The short section we see in this Scotsman Session is drawn from a longer piece, Moving Cloud, created by Italian choreographer Sofia Nappi. While the movement itself bears all the hallmarks of contemporary dance, the soundtrack, composed and played by Donald Shaw and Glasgow-based six-piece TRIP, gives the work a distinctly Celtic feel.
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Hide AdIn this extract, we see the dancers embodying the music with the fluidity of a Highland stream. As they swoop and turn, occupying the same tight space yet never touching (or even acknowledging) each other, there’s a sense of inner joy that looks improvisatory – until suddenly they click into bursts of synchronised choreography, arms swaying in unison above their heads.
“Although most of the piece is set, there are moments of improvisation in it,” explains Joan Clevillé, artistic director of Scottish Dance Theatre, who commissioned the piece. “And for those moments, Sofia gave the dancers imagery-based parameters to work within. For the structured sequences, she encouraged the dancers to work ‘from the inside out’ and find their own way to inhabit the movement.”
The traditional Scottish folk score is further embellished by Alison Brown’s costuming, which gives more than a passing nod to the past. Billowing like clouds, the white tops feel drawn from Ghillie shirts, and despite being plain in colour the skirts are a direct reference to kilts. “As a Scottish designer, Alison knows well the rich design and craft traditions of Scotland,” says Clevillé, “so she was able to bring a fresh perspective to traditional motifs. In particular, working with fabrics and patterns that create generous three-dimensional volumes around the dancers’ bodies, enhancing the luscious and full-bodied quality of Sofia’s movement.”
The solo dancer who closes this Scotsman Session looks as if he happened upon a folk session in a Highland bar and is living his best life. Which is not to say he looks drunk, but there’s an exuberance to his loose-limbed swagger that feels inextricably linked to the music.
“We were invited to collaborate with Donald Shaw and TRIP for the 30th edition of Celtic Connections in 2023,” explains Clevillé, who hails from Barcelona. “Having lived in Scotland for more than 15 years, I have experienced the power of Scottish folk music to bring people together and elicit a kind of visceral, irresistible response. Moving Cloud has allowed us to bring contemporary dance to a much broader audience, and we look forward to sharing the work and everything it represents with local and international audiences at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.”
Scottish Dance Theatre, Zoo Southside, 13-18 and 20-25 August, www.edfringe.com