A lone dancer steps forward from the darkness, travelling backwards, pushing against unseen forces. The music of the oud is heard & then

the image of its player. He begins his plaintive song but the picture suddenly disappears and the song comes to us from the darkness,

across an unknown distance.

Alpo, a Finnish dancer and choreographer, and Ali an Iranian oud virtuoso started work on a collaboration across their two cultures but

Ali's asylum applications were refused and he had to leave Finland two weeks before the premiere, in which he could only appear by

video link, as he does here.

While there are moments of joy at their artistic union, the prevailing mood is of frustration and sorrow at what seems to be a wider

trend to fear each other's differences, rather than to explore and be enriched by them.

Moving and beautiful.

Ali and Alpo is at Summerhall until August 25th (not Mondays)

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/ali-and-alpo