British Dance Edition 2008

British Dance Edition is one of the most significant events in the UK dance calendar, and this year took place from 30 January until 2 February in Liverpool, Capital of Culture 2008. Three Scottish dance companies, Scottish Dance Theatre, Tabula Rasa and Stammer Productions, were invited to perform this year.

Scottish Dance Theatre, based at Dundee Rep, performed Tenderhook by Liv Lorent, a rollercoaster ride through a loving relationship which toured throughout the UK in the autumn.

Dancer, choreographer and performance artist Colette Sadler (Stammer Productions) presented dDumY another myself - a solo piece working with and around anonymous furniture common to public buildings and confronting the human conditions of speech, action, memory and repetition.

Tabula Rasa, based in Sutherland, interpreted the bleak beauty of a northern winter in The Winter Room, a poetic interpretation through dance, music and visual images of isolation and our desire and need to keep warm. The piece is a collaboration between choreographer Claire Pençak, composer Malcolm Lindsay and visual artist Brian Hartley.

British Dance Edition is the biggest dance showcase in the UK, and includes leading dance companies from Britain and abroad. Dance promoters from all over the world descended on Liverpool in search of new trends and ideas in British dance.

The event is a festival, a marketplace, a gathering and a celebration, and takes place in a different city every two years. It presents a unique collection of contemporary dance performance featuring new and bold, classic and cutting edge work. 

In previous years, visitors have been welcomed from as far afield as Russia, Taiwan and Mozambique, and approximately 38% of visitors are from overseas.