BEHIND THE FRINGE

Behind the Scenes at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2019

Category: Dance / Choreography

Monsters Within

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On August 17, 2019

In Dance / Choreography, Directors, Uncategorized

Traversing slowly through the foggy room to find my seat, Taiwan Season: Monster by Yen-Cheng Liu was an experience from the onset.  Creative, evocative, uncomfortable, boundary pushing – This is the kind of work I came to the Fringe to experience. 

Afterwards, Liu was very approachable and open to share about his art.  Although created in 2017, this is his first time touring with this piece.  Liu, an acclaimed international dancer, explained that he reached a point in his dance career where he began to seriously question why he was dancing?  “What was the point of dancing?”  This work reflects those explorations as he experiments with space and time in unusual and interesting ways.  He says that this is a “movement piece” versus a dance piece.  Liu explained how he likes that in some Chinese landscape paintings you see mountains on each side of the picture and a big open space between.  The concept is reflected in his work. His actual dance movements were captivating. I walked away wanting more! MORE!  And needing to think and take it all in.  I love that.  I love that the Fringe is the place he decided to allow a very non-traditional piece the space.  Isn’t that what the Fringe should be about after all?

We’re Moving! Putting on A Mobile Performance at The Edinburgh Fringe

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On August 4, 2019

In Dance / Choreography, Directors, Fringe Shows

It’s pretty fun when the nice young woman, whom you are sitting next to and chatting with, suddenly gets up and begins performing in the show.  I was particularly curious to experience Back of the Bus by Java Dance Theater as I have a “thing” for mobile shows. What do I mean by mobile?  I mean Back of the Bus is a musical dance performance that takes place both on and off an old-school double-decker bus as it travels throughout Edinburgh.  We wandered into various non-traditional settings at least three times.

I spoke to Sacha Copland, Artistic Director, after the show and asked about some of the challenges and problems she’s had with presenting on a bus.  She offered that to begin, there is the challenge of securing a bus!  It is peak season in Edinburgh after all.  Java Dance Theater company is based in New Zealand, but Back of the Bus has been produced around the world including Tokyo so that’s just a small hurdle.  

Another challenge I saw firsthand was trying to gather your flock of audience members in the midst of Fringe chaos.  It’s certainly more difficult than having people meet up in a theater, eh?  Sacha emphasized that for anyone thinking to try a mobile show, the number one priority should be on safety — especially among the cast.  The bus is moving, taking corners, and stopping while the performers are dancing about.  From time to time they run into logistical problems too.  She mentioned that last night they hit rush hour traffic and so the show ran about 20 minutes long.  They have back up material for such happenings. Other times, a bus has taken a wrong turn or broken down.  The key Sacha says is trying to anticipate all the possible things that could go wrong and have backup plans.  Our show seemed to go off without a hitch. 

I know what I got out of the show, but I was curious about Sacha’s vision for her audience experience.  She sees Back of the Bus as an opportunity to break down boundaries and bring people together, which she notes is pretty much opposite of what normally happens on a bus.  The show does do just that.  Audience members find themselves on an hour-long romp around Edinburgh and ultimately become part of the show.  I found myself laughing and singing alongside new friends by the end.  The gal I locked arms with exclaimed, “Oh I just love not knowing what’s going to come next!”  Thanks for the fun Java Dance Theater.   

Chaos Costume Designing for the Fringe

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On August 3, 2019

In Costume Design, Dance / Choreography

The Fringe offers opportunities for a variety of behind the scenes folks that are a part of making shows happen.  I met Si Chen on the train to Edinburgh.  She is from Northern China but currently a fashion design student in a graduate program at the University of London.  She designed and sewed beautiful costumes for a small group of dancers performing an original dance and storytelling show at the fringe called Chaos.  Her friend who created and choreographed the experimental piece chose to use dance as the international language to share traditional Chinese stories. The show only performs a couple of days with today being the last day (today at 18:30).  Si explained that space is expensive, especially as a student, but the experience is still worthy.  

Like the show, her designs of the long flowing lavender colored skirts add a contemporary look to traditional Chinese designs.  This is a perfect fit for Si as her personal interest in fashion is creating modern twists to traditional Chinese dress.  She showed me a photo of a luncheon with friends who share a similar interest and each woman was wearing beautiful dresses that reflected six different Chinese dynasties and their stories.  For Si, the Fringe provides her a professional opportunity to share and display her designs with an international audience, and help her student friends with their artistic projects. 

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