Back to the world of dance, and Flesh, performed by Ugne and Poliana, at Studio 1 @ Dance Base, Grassmarket, at 16:00 on Thursday 25th. Here’s the blurb: “Without name, without identity – the body in its physical, sensual nature. Dreamlike, surreal animal shapes appear and vanish, merge and separate. Familiar and unknown images discovered in flesh. In movement, the body is reclaimed and flesh becomes a place of struggle and reconciliation between human nature and animal instinct. Flesh is a duet of volatile and fleeting realities that seduces and mesmerizes.”

Ugne and Poliana’s website is all in Spanish, and the description of the dance is one of those rather ethereal, abstract and ambiguous affairs which means it could be about anything. Check back around 5pm to see if we understood it and by then the preview blog for our next show should be available to read too.

Post-show update:

For us both this was definitely a show of two halves – or maybe three thirds. The first sequence reveals all the contours of Poliana’s and Ugne’s bodies in unusual, muscular contortions, and although it contained very little movement, was really fascinating to observe. And indeed the final sequence showed the two dancers in other unexpected positions, where they seemed conjoined, creating an almost sub- or ultra-human appearance. However the central sequence, that involved the two hurling each other around the stage felt both very repetitive and lacking in charm or artistry. So all in all we enjoyed it, but I would have hoped for something more telling from its narrative.