Go Dance

Go Dance is an annual celebration of amateur and community dance. On press night, they pulled out the heavyweights: Natasha Gilmore, a successful professional choreographer, presented her work with Maryhill Integration Project; and the Lesley Dutch Dance School stopped the show with their High School Musical Madness. Yet the most encouraging aspect of Go Dance is the consistent high quality and imagination on display, a sure sign of Glasgow’s future terpsichorean health.

Unsurprisingly, Rodolfo Riva Franco kicks off the show with a virtuosic solo, examining street dance in an almost academic and charming manner. Right2Dance’s simple Splash of Colour highlights the possibilities of inclusive companies, lighting up the stage in primary colours and both moving and very polished. The more dedicated companies – featuring either older students or specific groups - prove that the next generation of Scottish dancers are becoming more professional at a younger age: particular respect goes to Telford College and YDance.

Gilmore’s piece, which grappled with identity and immigration poignantly, has all the hallmarks of her professional style: the willingness to break down the boundaries between dance, humour and speech, live music and an immense playfulness. Unlike her Blank Album, however, Songs of Home, Songs of Hope features cute children and a wider range of performers. Nevertheless, this is another example of her immense potential as a populist performer who is not afraid to be cutting edge.

Lesley Dutch Dance School is more populist again: reworking the High School Musical, it flooded the stage with relentless energy and fun. A wonderful evening that, despite a forbiddingly worthy and amateur premise, ends up as a pleasure for even the jaded hack.