Midsommar
August 5-10 - Paradise in Augustines The six-piece InMotion Dance Collective and their contemporary dance performance has been inspired by Ari Aster’s Midsommar and arrived in Edinburgh for a short but must-see run. As a fan of Midsommar and someone who has had the privilege of interviewing cast members on our podcast, The A24 Project—including those who danced around the maypole — I was eager to see this performance. In my nearly twenty years living in Edinburgh, I have never attended a dance show at the fringe and I was struck by how hauntingly beautiful and charged it was. While the visual imagery of Midsommar—like the white outfits and flower crowns are present - the dance show transcends these surface elements, using movement to delve deep into the film's emotional and psychological core that resonated with audiences since the film's release in 2019. The dancers, draped in ethereal white costumes, moved in perfect synchronicity, capturing the eerie, surreal atmosphere of the film. Each of the around seven set pieces seemed to symbolise a different stage of Dani’s journey—her grief after losing her family, her search for solace, and her ultimate transformation within a pagan cult’s unsettling rituals. The show's intense runtime was only 25 minutes and is one I'd love to revisit to explore the storytelling and creative choices in more detail, as this time, I let it wash over me, captivated by the perfomance on display and their work as a collective unit. The lighting in addition to the choreography from Tiegan Doyle and Paige Luisa Sinclair brilliantly mirrored the movie’s unsettling descent from sunny serenity into chaos, echoing the film’s exploration of grief, trauma, and the disturbing allure of the community. Aster’s iconic visuals and symbolic storytelling came alive on a stage with only the dancers and a line of dirt through the contrast in movement—from slow, ritualistic gestures to frantic, uncontrolled bursts of energy, mirroring Dani’s trauma and rebirth. The performance drew me into the same emotional whirlwind the film does, making me feel the catharsis of Dani’s journey. It was an immersive experience that felt like a natural extension of the film’s powerful imagery and themes, with a new dimension of intensity and depth added by the dancers’ physical expression in the room and without the disconnect of a screen. Skol! 4/5 Lee Hutchison |