Live Performance Review: Deborah Colker Dance Company: Tatyana (Edinburgh International Festival (E.I.F.) 2012), Monday 13.08.2012 19:30 The Edinburgh Playhouse, Edinburgh 

I have been going to dance performances for the past few years, and have found myself generally greatly enjoying what I have seen. It is one of these strange things where I usually have no idea what is going on as far as plot is concerned, so concentrate on the dancers movement balanced against the sound lighting and set design.

The idea of enjoying things which you know you don't fully or properly understand is an intriguing thing, and for me akin to the best of David Lynch's films where I find it not possible to describe what has actually happened. It also occurs to me, and I dread to think that I have come to think like this, that enjoying what you don't understand is something that happens with development (or that ghastly term 'maturing'). Given that I struggle to understand what is going on, trying to write about it may be an odd thing. I'm going to six performances in this years E.I.F. Dance programme, so wonder where I may find the words and ability to be able to put my thoughts about them down in this blog. With going to so many performances and trying to keep costs down, I decided to get a cheep seat, A3 in the balcony, and was glad that by leaning forward in my seat, that the restriction in view did not feel compromising.

I had read the notes in the E.I.F. brochure before going, so understood that the story revolved around characters competing for affections, and the layered behaviour that can be displayed as part of this.

In the first half I felt able to identify this within the performance, though the modernist abstract tree structure that was being performed around, I felt to be a distraction.

For the second half the tree structure was removed, and the performance made good use of lighting and thin screens that could easily be seen through, creating differing chambers for the performers. With the distraction of the tree structure being removed it felt to be easier to concentrate on the dancing; which to my amateur eye displayed synchronicity grace and sensuality. The second half felt more hypnotic, in terms of the patterns of lighting, dance and sound. The sound was also intriguing, in that it balanced 'classical' music with ambient noise and sampled speech. This felt both contemporary and respectful of the source without jarring. I felt I enjoyed the first half, though the second half was what made it noteworthy.

Rating: 07/10.