Helix Dance is a contemporary dance-theatre company, based in Cambridge with support from Arts Council England East, DanceEast and the Junction, Cambridge.
Artistic Director Isobel Cohen is Associate Artist at DanceEast, and is also part of Escalator for the Performing Arts, a pioneering initiative by Arts Council England East to support promising artists.
Edinburgh Fringe Run 2009
Isobel has curated Four Quarters, a quadruple bill of cutting edge dance by young, up and coming choreographers. With work by Isobel Cohen, Shahla Tarrant, Alex Broadie and Steve Johnstone.
For further information about our Fringe programme and Helix Dance's portfolio of work and education programme, go to
www.helixdance.co.uk
Reviews from The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2008
Helix Dance certainly have an almighty task on their hands. Bringing to the Fringe Damned Beautiful, their interpretation of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Grey, they are this year pitting themselves against the much-hyped and greatly anticipated Matthew Bourne production based on the same novel.
Albeit with a lesser budget and in a smaller venue than Bourne, this slick, low-key production instantly excites as two male dancers emerge, engulfed in darkness, commanding the space and demanding full attention.
Set to a soundtrack of plucked strings fused with snippets of dialogue, the characters explore their physical and inner selves. Pushing and pulling, falling and catching, the power shifts from man to man as the piece unfolds. The fluid choreography is simple and refined, cleverly interpreting and expressing the themes of the story.
Oozing energy and charisma as the impish, impressionable and increasingly unstable Dorian, dancer Keir Patrick tackles the role with an effortless charm and grace. Teamed perfectly with the talented Neb Abbott, the powerful duet is performed with passion, as the love-hate relationship between the men crescendos into a frenzied swirl of connected physical movement and sheer brutality.
The space is thoughtfully lit, drenched in gold and blue, casting a shadow over the all-important canvas. Yes, the stage design may be simple and the production low key, but there is no doubt at all that Damned Beautiful may well even eclipse Bourne and his more extravagant production.
**** Fest Magazine
Best of the festival has to be Damned Beautiful by
Helix Dance. An adaptation of Oscar Wilde's
Picture of Dorian Gray, the harmonious movement
of the two performers convey the story exactly with
nothing more than their motions and a single prop.
Lines from the text serve as chapter headings for
the show, illustrating the beauty of Wilde's prose
and putting the show in context. Both performers
are exquisite, particularly Keir Patrick in the lead
role, whose effortless grace embodies the beauty
of Wilde's character. For the ticket cost, the show is
brief at only half an hour, but it is packed with an
amount of quality balancing a show three times its
length.
