not for glory @ Dance Base
Malin Lewis, Jack Anderson and Charlotte Mclean's dissection of traditional dance and piping is a thrilling reflection on what it means to love and own one's art
not for glory thrills from the start. As we enter Dance Base, we are encouraged to wear earplugs. The implication is that a loud, frenetic, sensory experience is to follow. On this, the show delivers and more.
We are ushered in and personally welcomed by the cast: Charlotte Mclean, a Highland dancer; Jack Anderson, an Irish dancer; and Malin Lewis, a piper. The trio's mastery of their respective artforms is on full display from start to finish. What Mclean, Anderson and Lewis have to offer – a joyous, subversive cross-fertilisation of their skillsets – is unlike anything we've seen at the Edinburgh Fringe this year.
Traditional Highland Dance, Irish dance and piping are combined with such eloquence in this production, threaded powerfully via strobe lighting, thumping soundscapes and – naturally – top-grade choreography. On a technical level, the dance steps in both styles and traditions are pristinely executed, highlighting the subtle and explicit differences between both, and Lewis’ piping is an effective atmospheric tool for much of the show’s duration before, eventually, coming centre stage.
As the show bursts out of the straightjacket of a traditional dance/piping display (if the powerful techno aesthetic wasn’t enough) it begins to transform into a personal and political statement about our relationship to art, as well as tradition. With some appreciation for their respective upbringings in the traditions of piping, Highland and Irish Dance, each artist takes us on a sensitive odyssey from the high-pressure environments of competitive talent show to something far more personal and emancipated: the tensions of performing for competition rather than oneself is highlighted neatly by the choreography.
not for glory also serves as a not-so-preachy performance lecture in exposing lies and myths about dance and piping traditions, and poking expert fun at cliches about Scotland and Scottishness, with engaging surrealist wit. What this amounts to is an all-encompassing, stimulating hour of dance and performance which really gets at the heart of what it means to love and own an artform. It is a joy.
not for glory, Assembly @ Dance Base (DB3), run ended