Following a major tour in New Zealand and beyond, Oli Mathiesen, Lucy Lynch and Sharvon Mortimer bring The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave to Summerhall this Edinburgh Fringe.
Exploring the movement used in techno and rave culture, three humans take on an incredible endurance-based dance challenge to the booming techno album Nocturbulous Behaviour by Detroit DJ Suburban Knight, which explores house, techno and funk. This is a spectacle of the human body as a victim to music, to passion, and to our endless desire to achieve more.
With a warning for strobe and flashing lights, haze, smoke and loud noise, the atmosphere is ‘rave’ right from the off. Before we’re even in the theatre we can hear and feel the thumping music. We’re even given wristbands at the door; there’s very much the feeling of entering a rave rather than a performance. The dancers are already moving on the hazy, colourful stage as we take our seats.
On the face of it, The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave is a straightforward concept: one hour of dancing to rave music. But that doesn’t do it justice. What we have here is one hour of absolutely relentless energy, and this isn’t freestyle; we’re talking choreographed movement, every beat synchronised, details mastered down to the fingertip. Remembering an hour’s worth of fast-paced choreography is a feat in itself.
The skill and passion of the dancers is undoubtedly what makes this piece. They transition seamlessly through dance styles, from fluid to sharp and back again, without ever breaking the vibe. The energy of the three of them is absolutely infectious and has our audience literally bouncing. We see them exhausted but indulging in the pain, with us willing them on to the very last beat.
An astonishing feat of endurance, The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave might make you feel tired just watching; it’s a hypnotic watch.
