Pop Art, Contemporary Dance and Cabaret meets in one of the most unique, hilarious, strange and sarcastic shows Edinburgh has to offer. ZOO Southside – Studio, 3.45pm, 4th – 27th (excluding 14th) August 2023 – For tickets: https://zoofestival.co.uk/programme/groovicle/
Dancer and Performer Elliot Minogue-Stone will follow in his comedic legend father Ian Stone’s footsteps as he makes his debut at Edinburgh Fringe this summer with his striking, contemporary show Groovicle.
Audiences are invited to join Elliot’s search for collective discovery about who we are, what we like, and how we co-exist in the Gen Z and contemporary show Groovicle. Throughout the show, our expectations are unpacked through trials, tribulations and experiences, as audiences are lured in and out of the groove. Existing culture is remixed, exploring, on the one hand, groove, physicality and music, and on the other hand, language and humour.
Theatrical conventions crack, and we’re lost in the groove, in the moving, in the moment. Like the end of a great gig, we’re all slightly altered; we’ve ventured somewhere together, a laughing, grooving pocket of humanity. Groovicle is a comedy show defined as a 21st-century contemporary dance cabaret. Elliot’s desire to be cool and groovy is hidden underneath twisted dance numbers, physical challenges and funny fragmented conversations.
Growing up with a slight stutter, Elliot sometimes struggled with communication and turned to dance and music to express himself. Bored and disengaged with his school education, he continued to seek alternative outlets for his creative expression. Starting with casual dances, playing the piano, and singing, he thoroughly enjoyed his early childhood gigs, playing statues, and being a fish in movement classes at school. Elliot knew what he wanted to do, and it certainly wasn’t maths.
Hoping to throw himself into a more rigorous dance training program, he received countless rejections. He turned hurt feelings into steely determination, pushing himself out of his comfort zone and eventually finding the right training to achieve his ambitions.
With six gruelling years of dance training under his belt, including Trinity Laban, Lewisham College and London Contemporary Dance School, the mental and physical challenges took their toll. Rather than risk losing his love for dance, Elliott took time out to establish what he wanted –to create a performance which doesn’t take itself too seriously and celebrates joy, fun and humour.
Coming from a background of jazz music and alternative stand-up comedy, Elliot’s higgle-piggledy and highly eclectic performance sees him co-developing ‘skateboard technique’, deliberately mislabeling body parts, playing imaginary tennis, engaging (and winning) in curtsey competitions, and inventing dog breeds.
Elliot trained with the National Youth Theatre and toured with Orley Quick and the Hairy Heroines across the UK. He is a member of the National Youth Theatre in Great Britain. As a choreographer, his work has been supported by the Royal Opera House, The Place, Trinity Laban and Siobhan Davies Studios. He also co-curated the sell-out London Dance Festival SCREWED.
Elliot’s work has been supported by VierNulVier (BE), United Cowboys (NL), Room 100 (HR), Danspunt (BE), RADAR Mechelen (BE) and Platform in de Maak (BE). He’s also a residency artist with Circus Without Circus (DK/HR). As a performer, Elliot has toured with Anastassya Savitsky / Theatre FroeFroe (BE), ONAF (BE), Nat Gras (BE), Bianca Zueneli (IT), Theatre Tor (BE) and Sidney Leoni (BE/FR).
Elliot frequently works with games and scores, as well as challenging impersonation and embodiment. He currently resides in Belgium and is a graduate with BA (Hons) in Contemporary Dance.
Follow Elliot on Instagram: @dessperately_seeking
Website: www.elliotminoguestone.com
