Fringe dance reviews: Superbowl Salsa | Taiwan Season: The Wall | Glob | Taiwan Season: Proximities | Forgive Me

DANCE, PHYSICAL THEATRE & CIRCUS

Superbowl Salsa ★★★★★

Assembly Hall (Venue 35) until 30 August

Try not to blink when you’re watching Superbowl Salsa, because who knows how many steps you’ll miss. It’s not hyperbole to say these are the fastest dancers I’ve ever seen; their legs and feet moving like a hummingbird in flight. Aside from many years of training, there’s a reason these performers from the Colombian city of Cali operate at such speed. Back in the 1980s, DJs would take a record intended for 33rpm and play it at 45rpm – the dancers loved it, and learned to keep up.

We learn this (and much more) from Beny Luis, a silky-voiced singer who leads us through the evolution of Latin music. From traditional 19th century songs, sounding as fresh as ever, right up to today’s musical giants. He also tells the fascinating story of Luis Eduardo Hernandez, a young Cali boy born into poverty who danced in the streets to earn money, and ended up revolutionising Latin dance. If you enjoy watching the salsa routines on Strictly Come Dancing, and marvel as dancers flip cautiously over heads, then hang onto your hats – there’s nothing remotely cautious about this fearless outfit. They also change costumes, each one as glamorous as the last, almost as fast as they dance.

What Hernandez did differently to those who came before him, was incorporate gymnastic lifts and throws into his choreography. After winning multiple world championships, he opened the dance school Swing Latino (‘swing’ means a natural groove or flow in Latin dance), which is where these incredible dancers hail from. Some of whom competed in Jennifer Lopez’s TV show, World of Dance (winning the team division) and appeared in Lopez and Shakira’s incredible halftime show at the 2020 Super Bowl.

Much is made of this in Superbowl Salsa, with an entire section given over to recreating that moment. By the end, we’ve fast-forwarded to Bad Bunny’s 2026 Super Bowl set, leading to a joyous finale featuring all 12 dancers. Cali is nicknamed the ‘salsa capital of the world’, and for good reason. After a visit to this show, everything else in life feels like it’s moving in slow motion. Kelly Apter

DANCE, PHYSICAL THEATRE & CIRCUS

Taiwan Season: The Wall ★★★★

Summerhall (Venue 26) until 31 August

Dressed in pastel shades, with their black hair dyed silvery blonde, the members of Taiwan’s Seed Dance burst onto the stage. It’s a high energy start that never goes off the boil, even during moments of quiet contemplation, you can sill feel the undercurrent of energy.

Choreographed by the company’s artistic director, Huang Wen-Jen, The Wall is both literal and metaphorical. We all experienced the isolation brought about by the Covid pandemic, when people were unable to connect – but what about afterwards? Inspired by what came next, Huang explores the invisible boundaries that continue to shape our lives, and the distance they create.

But the dancers also share the stage with actual walls, or more specifically frames, covered in black see-through gauze, frilled by fairy lights. At the end of the show, Huang suggests coming back for a second viewing, and sitting in a different seat. You can see her point, because each angle of the theatre affords a different view. As the dancers climb over the frames, stretch inside or re-position them, our perspective changes.

What stays the same, regardless of where you’re sitting, is the skill and athleticism of the dancers. Driven along by an electronic score that’s largely contemporary, but with the occasional shard of traditional tonality thrown in, they gather as a fast-paced ensemble or in tender duets. The need for connection is palpable, but time and again, the frames come back into play, separating and dividing them.

Until finally, one dancer is locked inside, wrapped in cellophane like a suitcase in transit. As she bounces against the plastic, vulnerable in her almost nakedness, it’s as if she’s back in the womb, still trying to find her place in a mixed-up world. Kelly Apter

Enjoying The Scotsman's coverage of the Edinburgh festivals? For just £2 a month you can get unlimited access to scotsman.com plus 2-for-1 Fringe tickets. For details visit www.scotsman.com/subscriptions

DANCE, PHYSICAL THEATRE & CIRCUS

Glob ★★★★

McEwan Hall at Underbelly, Bristo Square (Venue 302) until 30 August

There is an innocence to this two-hander by Canadian clown company Les Foutoukours that should, by rights, make it a show purely for children. Yet who amongst us doesn’t need a break from the hectic pace and cynicism of modern life? Which is why, as two men dressed in fluffy white costumes execute a range of silly tasks, it’s not just the little ones in the audience who are smiling broadly and laughing out loud.

Looking not dissimilar to polar bears, but with red noses and painted faces, the duo first encounter one another unexpectedly. Delighted to have found a play-mate, they set out to explore the landscape around them: a stage filled with orb-shaped lights, delicate winter trees, and a giant silver ladder. We sense their hesitancy to try anything new and scary, and immediately the entire audience is on their side, willing them on. Each new task that’s tackled and mastered, from juggling to climbing, tap dancing to hand-to-hand balancing, is greeted with a “Wow!” by the shorter one, a look of surprised glee from the taller.

Although there’s no shortage of skill here, amply displayed in the aerial work, diablo, lifts and ball play, nothing is done in a fast and furious manner, or to elicit applause. Instead, the pair scuttle across the stage, taking time to connect with us, so we can share in their hopes, fears and excitement. There is much beauty to be found in a brief stint of piano playing, the unexpected arrival of ‘snow’ fall, and an amusing scene involving lights that keep changing colour and must be fixed. Throughout, Rémi Jacques and Jean-Félix Bélanger (who lean into their height difference perfectly) hold us in the palm of their hands – it’s just a shame they have to put us back down. Kelly Apter

DANCE, PHYSICAL THEATRE & CIRCUS

Taiwan Season: Proximities ★★★

Dance Base (Venue 22) until 30 August

This enjoyable three-part work from Taiwan’s LEI Dance Theatre is bound together by an invisible gossamer thread. Choreographed by Olé Khamchanla, Proximities explores notions of intimacy; with ourselves, another person or a whole group. A through-line that can be clearly observed in all three sections, even if some convey it more successfully than others.

Born in Laos, raised in France, and trained in a range of dance genres, Khamchanla has an interesting style, which LEI’s excellent dancers wear well. Courtesy of this choreographic melting pot, we find contemporary dance, ballet and traditional Asian forms sitting comfortably side by side. One moment a dancer’s foot is pointed with balletic grace, the next it’s flexed; arms are poised classically overhead in one scene, clawing at the air in another.

The opening trio, performed with elegance and strength by three women, suggests individual autonomy and inner resolve. The second section, arguably less finely developed, finds two men caught in the primordial soup, attempting to evolve. In the tightly sculpted finale, all five come together, finding poignant solace in their shared connection. Kelly Apter

DANCE, PHYSICAL THEATRE & CIRCUS

Forgive Me ★★★

Summerhall (Venue 26) until 31 August

This deeply personal account of a mother-son relationship navigating neurodiversity, will have many people nodding in recognition. Dressed in a bikini and high-heeled boots, Tamsin Shasha is the poster woman for how to live life to the full in your late 50s. She loves wild swimming, can pole dance beautifully, and isn’t afraid to examine her own parenting.

Warm and engaging, Shasha takes us back to when she first sought help for her son’s apparent gaming addiction. Struggling to connect with the increasingly distant adolescent behind a closed bedroom door, she discovered two things: that her son was on the autism spectrum, and that she had ADHD. The road to understanding began there, and continues today.

Shasha is a fun person to spend time with, and her brutally honest approach will hopefully encourage conversations beyond the theatre. On the brief occasions when she uses the pole (more of this, please!), she’s also mesmerising to watch. If the production values are a little rough around the edges, and at times the delivery is more congenial than sharp, Shasha makes up for it with her energy and zest for life. Kelly Apter

The Scotsman’s arts newsletter is now sent twice a week - subscribe today

Enjoying the Arts & Culture journalism on scotsman.com? Make it easier to find by selecting us as a preferred Google source

Want the latest Scottish headlines sent directly to your phone? Sign up to our new WhatsApp channel here