On Danse

The days when exotic wild animals were part of any circus experience may be gone, but the members of Compagnie Montalvo-Hervieu dance with lions, tigers, elephants, and even giant white bunnies in this psychedelic celebration of body and soul.

Of course, the animals aren't actually on tour - they appear in animated film form along with clouds, gardens and dancers, some of whom also appear live on stage in front of the projected images. The utterly daft rolling visuals also feature expanding buttocks and cascading nudes worthy of Monty Python.

There are other surprises, too - a sequence in which the dancers appear to train horses prompts gasps of delight, and the finale sees dancers joining in the tumbling live. If anything, there's almost too much to look at in this anarchic collaboration between choreographers Dominique Hervieu and Jose Montalvo (he also created the 'scenography').

It's certainly great fun, but is it great dance? Quiet solo moments come as a welcome break from the visual overload, and include an explosion of fiery Latin tap, a joyful burst of African dance and plenty of crowd-pleasing hip hop. It's interesting how ecstatically the audience responds to even fairly fundamental breakdance moves, from threading and locking to what one dancer refers to as 'the big caterpillar and the little caterpillar'.

On Danse isn't about breath-taking choreography - in the lightest moments performers in self-conscious mode talk about what motivates them to 'move their bones' while flinging themselves enthusiastically but inelegantly around the stage, or marvelling at the contrasting body shapes and dance styles of fellow company members.

The Edinburgh International Festival is sometimes regarded as exclusive or inaccessible. If that's your perception, see On Danse and have it transformed.