Three of Scotland’s leading dance companies have been selected to perform at British Dance: Edition 2008 in Liverpool.

British Dance Edition (BDE), the foremost British dance showcase, takes place between 30 January and 2 February in Liverpool, European Capital of Culture 2008. Hundreds of dance promoters from all over the world will descend upon the city in search of new trends and ideas in British dance.

Scottish Dance Theatre, Tabula Rasa and Stammer Productions have each been selected to showcase work. They join a line up of 36 dance companies from across the UK at the event, which is supported by the Scottish Arts Council, alongside the other UK arts councils.

Scottish Dance Theatre (SDT) based at Dundee Rep. will present tenderhook by choreographer Liv Lorent - a rollercoaster ride through a loving relationship which premiered last autumn and tours Scotland and the UK this spring as part of the SDT DEFINED tour.

The Scottish Dance Theatre performance at British Dance: Edition 2008 is part of a headline event which sees a triple bill of award winning companies on stage at the Liverpool Empire Theatre on Thursday 31 January.

Dancer, choreographer and performance artist Colette Sadler (Stammer Productions) will be presenting dDumY another myself – a solo piece working with and around anonymous furniture common to public buildings, confronting the human conditions of speech, action, memory and repetition.

Colette will be taking work to Holland, Belgium and Croatia in 2008 along with a premier of a new piece ‘the making of doubt’ at Tramway in Glasgow in May.

Colette Sadler of Stammer Productions looks forward to Liverpool and added: ‘Performing at British Dance Edition is important to me as it represents a rare showcase opportunity for me as a Scottish artist within the wider context of British dance. With this opportunity I hope it becomes clear to producers and promoters in Europe and beyond that Scotland is indeed a country where high quality dance work is produced.

Dance in Scotland is not just about international import it’s about export too.’

Tabula Rasa based in Sutherland interpret the bleak beauty of a northern winter in The Winter Room, a poetic interpretation though dance, music and visual images of isolation and our desire and need to keep warm. The piece is collaboration between Artistic Director and choreographer Claire Pençak, composer Malcolm Lindsay and visual artist Brian Hartley.

The Winter Room toured in 2007 and Tabula Rasa will be touring a new piece for children entitled Cabbages and Kings in spring 2008.

Artistic Director Claire Pençak said: ‘The selection of ‘The Winter Room’ for the performance programme for British Dance Edition 2008 in Liverpool is a chance to return to a piece of work that was first created and toured in 2006 and to look at it with fresh eyes. British Dance Edition gathers in one place promoters of dance throughout the UK and from overseas and as such it is a unique opportunity for Tabula Rasa Dance Company to showcase this piece and the work of the company.’

The Scottish Arts Council has updated its publication Dance in Scotland to distribute to all British Dance Edition delegates. Dance in Scotland is a directory of Scottish dance companies featuring over 25 dance companies and independent choreographers along with details of dance centres, national agencies and festivals.

Speaking about the new publication and BDE, Anita Clark, Scottish Arts Council’s Head of Dance commented: ’We are delighted to be supporting British Dance: Edition 2008 in Liverpool which provides an outstanding platform for our dancers and choreographers to have their work recognised within an international context. The new publication, which we will be taking with us to BDE, provides an excellent resource to promote Scottish dance and demonstrates the depth and quality of work now taking place in Scotland.’

For more information visit www.bde2008.co.uk