Dance

Northern Ballet Theatre's reputation has grown immeasurably since David Nixon took over as Artistic Director in 2001. Since then he has created and choreographed nine full-length ballets for the company and in December last year won an OBE for services to dance. 

The Russian State Ballet of Siberia's production of Sleeping Beauty is all one would wish for in a classical ballet. Set in the traditional period, the variety of costumes are resplendent - flamboyant sequined ball-gowns, multi-coloured feathered hats, pastel-shaded tutus, which looked as pretty as a picture, vibrant coloured sentry outfits, and magnificent cloaks worn by the King and Queen and the evil witch - all of which created a magical setting for the well-known fairytale, where good surpasses evil.

Situated at the corner of Bonnington and Newhaven Road, Guilty Lily is an unexpected surprise with its chandelier, bright silken cushions, high wooden barstools and fairy lights. 

Five blurry, indistinct figures slowly gather on stage.  Pools of light shimmering at the back of darkness.  Slowly and softly, light filters into their space and we see five people, two men and three women, dressed in the most basic and rudimentary of dance outfits.  They begin to move, fluid and undulating, to the densely rhythmic soundscape which churns out around them.

Rambert Dance Company is the best contemporary dance company in Britain. They can be relied on for  innovative, stimulating dance programmes which display the extraordinary suppleness of the talented troupe.

The Edinburgh International Festival may have come first, but generally it's the Fringe that Edinburgh is best-known for. There's really nothing quite like it: "the largest show on Earth" they say. The latest stats seem to bear that out: the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2009 saw 34,265 performances of 2,098 shows at 265 venues. It's a sprawling, anarchic, sleepless month of live performances.

Sometimes hype can be a hindrance, raising expectations beyond the achievable and leading to a disappointed audience. Yet the hype surrounding Montreal based troupe 7 fingers is truly deserved and doesn’t disappoint in a spellbinding performance that seamlessly mashes together circus skills, dance, acrobatics and theatre.

Five-day festival of new theatre works, workshops, discussions, and other events exploring the intersection of puppetry, physical theatre and animation.

One  hundred minutes of pulsating percussion and dance served up by an energetic and talented cast.

This performance of The Nutcracker Ballet is different. Ashley Page, artistic director of Scottish Ballet, has eschewed the traditional opulent set and chosen instead to place the story in a sparse, surreal environment.

Edinburgh's Hogmanay Festival programme has previously offered an international cultural extravaganza of street theatre and music in the

It is over 20 years since I first saw Frank McConnell and Michael Marra perform A Wee Home from Home as part of its nationwide tour with Communicado.  It is one of these experiences that impacts and stays with you. Seeing it again is rather like re reading a book after some time, each chapter is both familiar and fresh at once as new discoveries are made.  I have to say that despite the passage of time, the two performers look exactly the same!

Jig the night away at The Hub to the stomping sounds of Skerryvore and A Whisky Kiss. Dougie MacLean will perform a special set. Entry on a first come, first served basis.

This double bill of contemporary dance from Wales was choreographed with two very different concepts in mind. The first piece, Veil of Stars, is by Andonis Foniadakis, who trained in Greece and France and has since worked all over the world.

American dancer Mark Morris created his own dance company in 1980, for which he has choreographed over 120 works as well as numerous commissions from the finest ballet and opera companies in the world from Paris Opera to the Royal Ballet.  

Bounce Street Dance Company's show 'Insane in the Brain' is captivating from beginning to end. Saturated with high-octane energy, it is based on Ken Wesley's infamous novel about the shenanigans that went on in a Californian mental ward where the patients were controlled by the ruthless Nurse Ratched.

Founded by the visionary choreographer Peter Darrell in 1969, Scottish Ballet is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary. This major UK tour features a trilogy of diverse works which neatly spans four decades.

This year's Hogmanay festival in Edinburgh will premiere a Scottish, multicultural dance and music show "Off Kilter" created by Unique Events (organisers of the Edinburgh Hogmanay event), Dance Base, and the Festival Theatre with £343,000 funding from the Scottish Government's Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund.

This event has been canceled....

I am writing with great regret to inform you of the fact that our Reels and Revelry event has had to be postponed to a later date, yet to be confirmed.

Apologies

Vicki

Come along to Fairbridge in Scotland's black tie fundraising night of ‘Reels and Revelry', taking place in the exquisite ballroom of Edinburgh's famous Assembly rooms. Revellers will be piped in and then put through their paces by the renowned ‘Jigger's' band. They will pause only to delight in Scottish cheese and oatcake platters and a chance to win one of our fantastic prizes in our fundraising raffle, before returning to the dance floor.

The 2009 Fringe programme includes 2098 shows with 34,265 performances in 265 performing spaces.