Monday 8th August 2011
Dare to dance at marathon Edinburgh Fringe show
BBC News
It is not unusual for a Fringe show to involve audience participation but not on the scale of Dance Marathon.
Inspired by the dance competitions of 1930s Depression era America, it requires participants to keep on dancing - with hourly comfort breaks - for all of the three and a half hour show.
Part history lesson, part performance - planted professional dancers demonstrate routines throughout the night - it is also a proper competition.
Dancers are randomly eliminated by a rollerskating adjudicator throughout the night until just one couple remains to take the Dance Marathon championship title.
The evening begins in the Traverse Theatre foyer where everyone is given a numbered bib and led across to a nearby rehearsal space.