EDINBURGH 2017: Review: TUTU: DANCE IN ALL ITS GLORY, Pleasance Courtyard

Tutu: Dance in All Its Glory is a beautiful and whimsical show with stunning moments of pure art, skilled dancers and perfectly timed clowning that takes its audience on a journey which reinvents a huge array of classical and contemporary dance styles.

The show sends up pop-culture in a Strictly Come Dancing section as well as featuring a breakdancing version of Swan Lake and many other references that a dance aficionado would recognise, though you don't need to know the originals well to enjoy the show. What really makes this show stand out is it's commentary on men in dance - the 5 main dancers are male, often performing traditionally female roles giving the audience food for thought regarding masculinity and how male dancers are affected the perception of their work.

The dancers are clearly very technically skilled but happy to use their talent to playfully poke fun at the genre which is particularly clear in a piece in which the dancers embody the pain of dancing on pointe.

The costumes are perfectly designed to add to the humour - highlights including fluffy, ruffled trouser bottoms and baby swans make this show a pure joy to watch. Effective lighting allows for the showcases of particular body parts during sections of slick well-structured synchronicity.

Overall a fantastic show for all ages that is quite unlike anything else I have seen.

To post a comment, you must register and login.