Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Common Ground
PRIME and Lothian Youth Dance Company
Genre: Dance, Dance and Movement Theatre
Venue: Assembly at Dance Base
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Common Ground is a four-section dance piece, two from Prime and two from the Lothian Youth Dance Company. PRIME is the over 60s dance company based at Dance Base whilst Lothian Youth Dance Company is exactly what it says on the tin. Over four pieces, The Line, Table for Two, Allelois and Flies, we are treated to the struggle of life, an awkward moment in a restaurant, a Greek chorus and Golding’s classic, The Lord of the Flies.
Review
The two companies that present are in their own ways prime, if you pardon the pun, examples of the best of dance. PRIME have a long tradition of performing at the highest level, looking to give people of a certain age the platform that they thoroughly deserve – here they are again, doing just that.
Lothian Youth Dance Company, also a Dance Base company, is one that I’d not seen before, however came away thoroughly impressed by their ability, not only to translate complex ideas into physical theatre, but also in their enthusiasm – though at times it felt they were a little less than sure of their undoubted ability, than I.
The first piece choreographed by Kally Lloyd-Jones is a really beautiful piece. Physically seeing the push and pull that people need to navigate through life had me thinking at one point, as people were being dragged and pushed across stage, of elements in my life of family members or friends – then the terrible truth that sometimes I was probably not the one pushing or pulling but the one being pulled or pushed.
In Table for Two Rosie Mackley has choreographed a beautiful piece of dance theatre which imagines that evening that doesn’t quite always go to plan. It was upbeat and vibrant with things connecting by the end.
Malcolm Sutherland’s choreographed short piece Allelois was excellent. It was a fantastic piece of synchronisation in volume that worked so well. The collective work together as a group embodiment really worked and came across.
Flies rounded off the production, choreographed by Tough Boys. This really was good and came popping over. An incredible piece of collective effort, it rounded things off with a heightened tone and embodied the physical vitality of dance.
Across all four, there was a sense that here were single pieces that slotted together without having a trajectory that meant we had a beginning, a middle and an end. They stood beside each other, apart from each other, but part of something that was in essence common. The ground between them didn’t open up to show a chasm, but showed that there was a move, a platform, a connection between them that did not need anything more than their presentation to convince.
PRIME have a core company of people who are incredibly able and it is as dancers that you become really entranced by them. Lothian Youth Dance Company may move slightly quicker and be on stage longer, but they transcend that stage. I just loved their work. Enhanced by a range of shapes and abilities, Common Ground had a commonality of welcome and real diversity.
The use of the stage was exemplary, and the lighting was effectively used. I often feel that dance companies know best how to merge theatre arts together into a coherent whole more than most – the use of music unsurprisingly worked as well.
Costume was good and I really liked the table for two costume and the commonality of the PRIME second piece.
I came away feeling enriched by the experience. I wrote, the Power of Dance as it ended in my wee notebook. I think that’s why I skipped out the venue afterwards.
