Lorna Irvine reviews 'a triumph'.
Performed in four short bursts, Ellen van Schulyenburch's recreation of her friend Michael Clark's choreography is a real labour of love.
One of the Michael Clark Company, van Schulyenburch, an intense and sleek dancer and renowned choreographer herself, danced the same movements back in 1988 when the iconoclastic company fused the classical high top lines and leaps of ballet tradition with jerky, punky movement, as The Fall spat out their jagged polemical post-punk. This of course culminated in the Edinburgh Festival performance of 'I Am Curious Orange'.
The particular sections chosen by van Schulyenburch focus on sectarian tensions during an Old Firm game. But this being Clark, nothing is ever that simple. Celtic and Rangers strut, spin and flex with feline grace.
This is not mere homage, however. Van Schulyenburch worked from videos and the fourteen Trinity Laban dance students and independent Scottish dancers, mostly female, bring a different energy to the piece...but are still precise.
A Glasgow supergroup of sorts, helmed by Tut Vu Vu's Raydale Dower blast out The Fall's 'Yes O Yes' with Sacred Paws' Eilidh Rogers bringing soulful vocals to Mark E Smith's lines. They are fantastic.
There are subtle variations of movement. I am lucky enough to see two performances. The dancers swap roles, and it all ends with someone flipping the bird. That's so Michael Clark--a fuck you to banality and convention. O Yes is a triumph.
At Glasgow Art School as part of Atelier EB and Panel and Ellen van Schulyenburch, with kind permission of Michael Clark.
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