Reviews
Scotland On Sunday (Enclosure 44 - Humans)“You could think of Janis Claxton’s ingenious ENCLOSURE 44 as I’m A Dancer! Get Me Out Of Here, for this is as close to social experiment as dance gets on the Fringe. ?.For seven hours every day, this species, described as one of which we know very little, communicates by …
The List (Enclosure 44 - Humans)“Enclosure 44 ? Humans was a huge success at this year?s Fringe, garnering more media attention and critical acclaim than anyone could have predicted.”
Evening News (Enclosure 44 - Humans)“Claxton and her company have put together a truly interactive show on many levels and one of the most fun parts is to stand back and watch the various crowd reactions. Enclosure 44 is an experimental study in who we are and what makes us both similar and different to …
The Herald (Enclosure 44 - Humans)“Notions of who is the audience and who is the performer are playfully reversed. What provokes the most disruptive thoughts is our reaction? Bold, brilliant. Go.”
The Independent (Enclosure 44 - Humans)“It is a genius idea. It says something profound about the human condition, questioning whether we are really that different from animals.”
Dance Europe (Enclosure 44 - Humans)“Enclosure 44 ? Humans, a novel, questioning and entertaining installation performance set in the Edinburgh Zoo.”
The Scotsman (Enclosure 44 - Humans)“Arguably one of the most innovative and thought-provoking shows at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe”
Dance Europe (Rinne)“Performed to a score by the eclectic Australian trio Waratah, Rinne (Japanese for reincarnation) is based on intricately recurring cycles of beats and inspired by a hummingbird?s flight. Rhythmically this deceptively smooth-and-easy piece is a pleasing, absorbing union of delicacy, detail and determination.”
The Herald (Torque)“There are several wonderful moments in Torque, when we’re carried back to Enclosure 44, the remarkable and radical installation piece that Janis Claxton Dance staged in Edinburgh Zoo during this year’s Fringe. Playful moments, tender moments, fraught moments with hands becoming paw-like, heads cocking to one side, bodies hunkering as …
The Scotsman (Torque)“Torque proved what an intelligent dance maker she is.”
Dance Europe (Torque)“every gesture has meaning and no moment is wasted.”
The Herald (Songs Are Sung)“?Songs Are Sung, a lovely, elegiac response to Gorecki’s recently released String Quartet No 3. Played live, with spirited caring, by the Edinburgh Quartet the score saw Claxton and her all-female company mark out episodes of patient waiting, anguished yearnings and wretched, wrenching despair. Yet there was also supportiveness, resilience, …
Dance Europe (Songs Are Sung)“At once dark and transparent, stringent and lush, this exquisite piece carries an ecstatic weight. Claxton is tirelessly sensitive to the tensions between the soothing and the neurotic, taking time to explore and reflect the music?s depths and complexities without sacrificing dramatic urgency. Sober, centred and sublime, her work generates …
The Scotsman (Songs Are Sung)“Most impressive of all, though, was the exquisite use of Gorecki’s emotive score. The dancers gave 100 per cent in a display of grief, torment, comfort and support. Tight synchronicity, athletic tumbles and delicate phrasing conspired to create a passionate work that heralds Claxton as a force to be reckoned …
The Herald (Falling Light Tour)“Enclosure 44 won Claxton a Bank of Scotland Herald Angel. This programme (Falling Light) proves her talent has wings.”
Dance Europe (Falling Light Tour)“Claxton?s highly selective, seemingly organic kinetic intelligence might actually represent a new radicalism.”
The Herald (Falling Light Tour)“Janis Claxton Dance and the Edinburgh Quartet combine forces in a programme that is as much a superb concert recital as it is a feast of outstandingly fine contemporary choreography”
Dance Europe (Falling Light Tour)?Talent-spotters take heed. This triple bill of dances by the Edinburgh-based Australian Janis Claxton officially heralds a bright and serious new talent on the British, and international, dance stage?
Venue Magazine (Janis Claxton Dance)“Eloquent, gimmick-free dance at its best.”
Dance Theatre Journal (Choreographer, Dancer, Teacher)"From the first breath Claxton holds us with her presence. Using only the most vital elements the work is about finding freedom in movement. Nothing more, nothing less."
Ballet Magazine (Blue)“The dancing was meticulously controlled but on the edge of breakdown... Claxton held the stage effortlessly for the 25 minutes of her piece.”
The Observer (Blue)“...has the taste and texture of real loneliness.”
Donald Hutera, Dance Now (Blue)“A fully felt, intelligently crafted slice of heartache.”
The Herald (Blue)“Claxton's finesse as a performer anchors us”
Venue Magazine (Choreographer, Dancer, Teacher)"She has a compelling stage presence and a distinctive choreographic voice."
Dance Europe (Burning Centre)"Janis Claxton's solo Burning Centre was stunning. Grounded and strong, she is certainly someone to look out for on the dance circuit."
Dance Theatre Journal (Burning Centre)"Burning Centre is a simple and powerful solo. From the first breath Claxton holds us with her presence. Using only the most vital elements the work is about finding freedom in movement. Nothing more, nothing less."