EDINBURGH 2023: Review: PERFECT PAIRING: A WINE-TASTING DANCEGUSTATION, Greenside @ Infirmary Street

My major motive in attending Perfect Pairing was, largely, intrigue. Although I’m a big fan of wine tastings, I hadn’t so far been as ardent a lover of contemporary dance as I might have been. The premise of the show, however, may have been one of the most unusual I’d ever encountered. Could it really be what it sounds like? I wondered. Is there any way that’ll work? Short answers: yes and yes.

The evening’s introduction warmed the intimate audience to the concept, and elaborated a little on part of its purpose: both contemporary dance and wine-tasting could be dismissed as alienatingly highbrow – even pretentious – but they can also be simply fun.

If I’d had any doubts about this, they were very quickly dispelled. Without hyperbole, I can honestly say that this was one of the most joyous performances I’ve ever attended, at this year’s Fringe or anywhere else.

In 50 minutes, Attitude Dance Company presented four arrangements paired with four wines, matching them by the moods they create and connotations they hold. What emerged was a truly five-sensory experience, in which it was impossible not to become immersed.

We plunged immediately, it felt, into a party. Sparkling wine was the first to flow, and the bubbles translated seamlessly into effervescent, celebratory movement. Remixes of engagingly, accessibly familiar tunes blurred into a delightful bouce of physical expression that left no visible audience member’s face without a smile.

When we moved on, it was to a bold, assertive rosé. This was no less of a celebration – but this time a sensual, almost lazy one. Fluid reaches suggested basking in the sun, floating in a warm sea or stretching out after a picnic as the sun started to sink.

The third quarter was another surprise – it was funky in both senses of the word. The natural wine gave a really powerful hit to the nose, but backed off immediately to delicacy before the next playful assault. The performance that went with it had, appropriately, eccentricity, unpredictability and a real sense of humour (and I couldn’t get the Flintstones theme out of my head for days!).

Finally, things got deeper and moodier with a juicy, berry-focused red. We felt an intensity that mellowed out the experience, seemingly endorsing it and empowering us as participants. It was a satisfying but provocative kiss goodnight.

Throughout the evening, everybody in the room seemed to be having, put simply, a fantastic time. A huge part of that was the fact that the dancers clearly loved what they were doing: their open joy was contagious. I came out of the performance space, as did the people around me, unabashedly smiling. 

One of the beauties of both wine and dance, I think (and perhaps a reason they blended so well together), is that they can conjure a swirl of thoughts and feelings without words. Sadly, a review can’t do that – so this is nowhere near as unpretentious as the experience Attitude created. I can't do it justice; it was extraordinary.