This article was initially intended for publication during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival period.
Dance-Forms Productions is a professional organisation based in Kentucky, USA. It provides a platform for emerging choreographers to showcase their work at established international venues through The International Choreographers’ Showcase. In its nineteenth year as part of Fringe, it showcases twelve dance performances at Emerald Theatre. Each varies from a solo act to duets, to group shows, and the diversity of the acts kept the experience exciting. It is also notable that the talented dancers have bodies of all shapes and sizes, which is very refreshing to see in any dance show due to the industry’s often toxic environment: seeing a wide range of professional productions go against this norm is uplifting.
The first dance, ‘Unravel’, is a good start with beautiful harmony and fluid choreography. But the long hem of the costumes is not light enough, covering most of the leg movement. Also, the texture of the costume takes the eye too much due to the clash with the lighting.
The choreography by Anandha Ray stands out as the highlight of the show. With energetic dancing and charming costumes, each one explores the themes of spirituality, being human, and connection through dance. Each is five-star-quality, with ‘We Rise’ as the peak due to its power to captivate. Another performance worth mentioning is Trent D. Williams Jr.’s ‘Profilin’, which presents a complex and raw image of the racial profiling of Black people in society. Taking the audience on an immersive emotional rollercoaster in only five minutes, ‘Profilin’ is a reminder of the power of communication through dance. Stephanie Wilkins’ solo ‘Burned’ is danced to ‘Love & Hate’ by Michael Kiwanuka. Her use of facial expressions is particularly powerful. The choreography only lacks from being repetitive at times, which makes it feel more like a dance for the song’s music video, and not a story and show on its own.
Memorable, joyous and captivating, The International Choreographers’ Showcase was a delightful way to explore talented emerging artists in the field.
Image credit: Steven Pisano, provided to The Student as press material.