Editoral Wednesday

In both theatre and dance, there is a clear division between the European and British approaches to dance. Although there are plenty of British choreographers who have been influenced by European work – Isobel Cohen of Helix is an outspoken advocate of continental work – British dance is more heavily influenced by ballet, while the European approach is often eclectic. From Scottish Ballet’s flirtations with Trisha Brown through to Rambert’s trajectory of the last forty years, British companies strive for a compromise between classical and contemporary.

Dot 504 represents the European tradition. Not only is the actual dance more aggressive than the cultured stylings of, say, Richard Alston (who created Scottish Ballet’s Carmen), the company spend considerable time talking and singing: the abrasive music is as important as the violent dance. The Belgium companies, such as Les Ballets C de la B, directly address the audience with personal speeches, breaking the fourth wall and suggesting that the choreography is devised from the dancers themselves, rather than at the vision of a single director.

100 Wounded Tears is a savage hour: characters attempt to escape and ravish each other, flick water onto bodies, pile dirt on the stage and fight and flirt. Doom pervades the stage: the dancers push themselves, until they fall exhausted, injured. Breath-taking and exhausting to watch, it is immersive and engulfing: a far cry from the technical politeness of much British contemporary, which can be ballet with added awkward steps.

Scotland itself, however, seems balanced between the British and European traditions, at least with the smaller companies. If Ashley Page, artistic director of Scottish Ballet, is a clear descendant of Rambert and the Royal Ballet, the more challenging Europeans have influenced many of the younger choreographers. In part due to the influence of Tramway - and its regular programme of Belgian theatre - performers like Claire Cunningham and Sue Hawksley are forging their own paths.

Across the Fringe, the strange category of physical theatre plots out the difficult area between scripted drama and classical ballet. From Precarious’ multi-media extravaganza to Idle Motion’s Borges and I, which relies on dialogue and movement interludes, physical theatre is a bucket that contains everything that cannot be easily described. Even more than dance, it is impossible to define, and is more of a default phrase than a meaningful description. Nevertheless, it contains a range of work that would sit happily under dance in Europe and allows a freedom to match the form to content.