Dance Base Presents ... Alan Lucien Øyen & X Factor Dance Company

Dance Base provides a glass-clad and stainless-steel-lined sanctuary from the Fringe crowds. What the building promises in terms of "trendy," the shows provide. X Factor Dance Company, winter guests and Steinunn Ketilsdottir offers a triptych of dance shorts that are as aesthetically impressive as they are contemporary.

The modernity of interpretive dance can be alienating; audiences are too often left feeling bemused. The critical skill of this show is that it manages to effectively bridge this gap, appealing to audiences with little or no knowledge of the genre. The first segment splices narrative into dance. The script is casual, even flippant, brilliantly undermining any pretentiousness: boy cynically says to girl, "you could look kind of like a horse with three foot of hair. Does that resonate with you?"

A similar attempt to desensitize the pretentiousness of dance is seen in ‘Unspoken’. Alan Greig and Peter Kyle offer up a moving duet. Full of atmosphere and latent sexuality, Greig and Kyle slide over and around one another, whilst a voice-over explores the mystery and anguish of a drowned man. However, mid-piece "Betty the psychic" enters, played by Greig in drag. Any alienation caused by the abstract nature of the dance or the serious subject matter immediately dissipates.

This show offers conceptual dance for novices and experts alike. Its ability to mock itself is a mark of its intrinsic quality. However, one may have to resist the temptation to "get it," as any definitive meaning does remain elusive, but nevertheless, as an artistic experience it's gratifying and entertaining.