Off Kilter at Perth Concert Hall

Jan 26 2010 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

THERE was certainly no requirement to be an aficionado or even an enthusiast of dance to enjoy the unique experience of Off Kilter – a fabulous celebration of dance and music styles alive and kicking in Scotland today.

Artistic director Morag Deyes gathered together world-class choreographers, dancers, musicians and visual artists, including renowned Scottish painter and illustrator John Byrne, to produce a scintillating evening’s entertainment combining traditional Highland, hip-hop, Indian classical and contemporary styles.

The show premiered in Edinburgh on Hogmanay and this week comes to the end of a short tour, which thankfully stopped off in Perth for two performances. Audience numbers should have been greater for such an entertaining and top quality event, but we hopefully conveyed to dancers and musicians our sincere appreciation of their talents and efforts.

Highlights included a new, specially commissioned work by New York choreographer Mark Morris, performed by dancers from his own company, to the musical backdrop of Beethoven’s Scottish Songs sung live on stage by opera singer Mhairi Lawson accompanied by a chamber ensemble.

Live music was an important element of Off Kilter, with the stellar line-up of folk, classical and jazz musicians including Martin Green from Lau, Fraser Fifield, Dave Milligan and Tom Bancroft, who composed original music for the show.

Further endorsing the stamp of quality to Off Kilter was the special creation by Ashley Page, artistic director of Scottish Ballet in which three dancers performed a series of short songs by cult superstar Ivor Culter in a musical, funny and intricately choreographed piece.

The exhilarating range of work also included the colourful Ihayami, a new work based on South Indian classical dance set to Scottish traditional music with Indian influences; a spectacular and graceful aerial dance performed by Jennifer Patterson; and Small Street, a solo with a salutatory ending created by Scottish Dance Theatre’s Janet Smith and set to the Martyn Bennett track Nae Regrets.

Perth’s Lisa Sinclair sparkled on stage in the fast-moving, entertaining and surreal ‘Innit..Innat – no?’ – sort of a White Heather Club for hooligans – choreographed by Frank McConnell.

The show finished with a spectacular finale including the full cast and featuring an exhilarating new dance anthem for Scotland mixed by DJ Dolphinboy, encompassing an astonishing range of music including Franz Ferdinand, The Rezillos and Calvin Harris.

And then the ceilidh began – audience members stampeded on to the stage for a dashing White Sergeant and Gay Gordons. The stage quickly filled and many were disappointed but some danced in the aisles. It was a super end to an uplifting evening.