Edinburgh Festival 1994: Dance
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Juggling Project (St Bride's Centre, 10 Orwell Terrace, 031-346 1405, 15-27 Aug). Who says that you can't do two things at once? Objects fly through the air followed closely by bodies in a blend of dance and juggling. The Project was a hit last year. The new piece is called Caught - Still / Hanging.
Colombian Folk Dance (various venues, 031-557 1642, 14-27 Aug). They dance better than they play football. Authentic costumes and folk music distinguish a cultural extravaganza.
Ricochet Dance Company (St Bride's Centre, 10 Orwell Terrace, 031-346 1405, 22-27 Aug). The imaginative creator Yolande Snaith has designed a powerful work for the talented and resourceful company. It asked Russell Maliphant to do the same. The result is a contrasting programme, Scanning.
Melanie Stewart Dance (Theatre Workshop, 34 Hamilton Place, 031-226 5425, Thurs-20 Aug, not Sun). Companion Piece is about the interior world of the child. The US company uses song, dance, poetry and text. Singing is said to be exquisite.
Yvette Bozsik Compagnie (St Mary's School, Albany Street / York Lane, 031-558 3371, 15-27 Aug, excluding Sun 21 Aug). Transylvania is not the only place you find vampires - they exist in Hungary as well. Countess is based on the latter's legendary vamp, Countess Elizabeth Bathory, and is performed by her compatriots.
Lucinda Child's Dance Company (Playhouse Theatre, Greenside Place, 031-225 5756, 23-25 Aug). The cool, clean minimalist brings her masterpiece Dance, set to a 90-minute score by Philip Glass and augmented by a film by the minimalist sculptor Sol Le Witt. Impromptu is also on the bill (23 & 24 Aug) by this leading American choreographer whose dancers are individualists who never partner each other. Triple bill - Rhythm Plus, One and One and Concerto - is on 25 Aug.
Union Dance Company (St Bride's Centre, 10 Orwell Terrace, 031-346 1405, 22 Aug-3 Sept, not Suns). The multicultural company makes its Edinburgh debut with Through Dance Coloured Glasses. It includes a riveting and compassionate piece, Tributo A, set to Bob Marley, about the experience of being poor in Jamaica.
Scottish-American Ballet (Church Hill Theatre, Morningside Road, 031-447 0111, 15-20 Aug). Alexander Bennett left the Royal Ballet 25 years ago and founded his own company. Here, he presents a programme of classical and contemporary works to celebrate the anniversary of his defection.
Bi Ma Dance Company (St Bride's Centre, 10 Orwell Terrace, 031-346 1405, 15-20 Aug). Retrace the Defaced is a delicate blend of East and West.
Foundation Jean-Pierre Perreault (King's Theatre, Leven Street, 031-225 5756, 20-22 Aug). The leading Canadian choreographer is little-known in Britain. His style is a timeless visual feast rooted in its surroundings - the colour, light and changing space of the theatre. He brings the tender and compassionate La Vita.
Jiving Lindy Hoppers (St Bride's Centre, 10 Orwell Terrace, 031-346 1405, 15 Aug-3 Sept, not Suns). The favourites of the Fringe present Hotfoot from Harlem, a Cotton Club-style extravaganza of jazz and tap backed by the Ralph Laing Festival All-Stars. On the programme is Dance Your Socks Off, another fine example of tireless jiggin' and jivin'.
Moving Visions (St John's Church, West End, Princes Street, 031-229 7565, 24-26 Aug, 29 Aug-1 Sept). Ross McKim, the director of the Rambert School, has employed former Rambert students for The Passion of Christ / The Celtic Passion. Marvellous dance set to Bach's St John Passion and a specially commissioned score by the American composer Benny Gerberg for The Celtic Passion.
Dancing Girls (St Mary's School, Albany Street / York Lane, 031-558 3371, 15 Aug-3 Sept, not Suns). Arabic dance that challenges sexual and cultural taboos. Veils spring to mind. Performed by Wendy Buonaventura and Jacqueline Jamal.
Mark Morris Dance Group (Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Nicolson Street, 031-225 5756, 20-22 Aug). His fans call him the Divine One. Prepare for two hours and 10 minutes of L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato - a piece about which the New York Daily News said, 'writing about this work without descending into a welter of superlatives is not easy'.
Merce Cunningham Dance Company (Playhouse, 031-225 5756, 27 & 28 Aug). One of the geniuses of 20th-century dance. In his seventies, he is now a trailblazer in computerised dance, which he is integrating into his choreography. The piece is called Enter and it is a masterwork.
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