For Your Observation

In what promises to be a compelling and adventurous piece, the Fringe stretches its boundaries to the Edinburgh Zoo as the latest venue for Enclosure 44 - Humans which explores the nature of the animal within us all.

Inspiration for Enclosure 44 – Humans hit creator and performer Janis Claxton while she was visiting a New Zealand zoo. A subsequent dance class at a Holland zoo had a remarkable effect on the dancers' movements back in the studio. 'It seemed that the animal observation had a deep somatic influence on the dancers and that co-ordination, ease of movement and a realm of other necessities for dance, kicked in with much less effort than before the zoo visit.'

The work has developed into an improvised piece set around certain structures and rules. Sustaining individual intention over the day is a stretch. 'I think the greatest challenge will be the length of time and the subtraction of speech as a communication tool' says Claxton. 'We will be together in one place for seven hours a day, for 12 days (one day off)…Part of the thrill and the challenge is to be real with our states - emotional and physical, but all of our communication must be sensed and expressed and read through our bodies and states of presence.'

Being able to watch all this will amuse and challenge our concept of what it is to be human, especially with the opportunity to observe the other animals at the Edinburgh Zoo. Claxton 'hopes that audiences will think a little about our connection to animals and the animal nature within us, the instinctual being that we are so discouraged to experience.' It's also highlights dance as a medium. 'I really I hope that many new audiences will open up to the language of dance as a beautiful form of communication and human/animal expression.