Dance People review – join Edinburgh festival’s promenade of protest and play

Old College Quad, Edinburgh
Lebanese choreographer Omar Rajeh’s outdoor dance fizzes with communal energy but its overstuffed concept blunts its political impact

What you might not have expected from this outdoor promenade show, which purports to be about power structures, dictatorship and democracy, is some of the most joyful dancing you’ll see this Edinburgh festival – indeed, you might even be doing some of it yourself.

Lebanese choreographer Omar Rajeh (now based in Lyon) leads a company of diverse movers, the kind of dancers that seem to move on instinct, their steps go from gnarly to sharp to shimmying; bursting with life and confidence. A pulsing jerk of Rajeh’s shoulder catches and spreads until the whole group is bouncing as one and surging through the space, eyes shining, entranced by the music, like a full moon ritual or a solstice party under the light cloud of an Edinburgh sky.