ZOO OPENING TIMES
We are open every day of the year, including Christmas Day, from 9am until:
| 6.00pm | April - September |
| 5.00pm | October & March |
| 4.30pm | November - February |
Centenary Appeal
Find out about our charitable aims for our Centenary year, including updates on Mercedes the polar bear's new Highland home.
Zoo News
Human Nature
5 August 2008
Edinburgh Zoo is playing host to a rather unusual group of new arrivals for 11 days in August. A group of dancers from Janis Claxton Dance will be performing in one the Zoo’s enclosures from 5-16 August as part of the Dance Base Fringe programme. ‘Enclosure 44 – Humans’, is already one of the most talked about shows in The Fringe and will offer visitors to the Zoo a unique and compelling experience.
The show, created by Janis Claxton, will be an improvised piece set around certain structures and rules. For instance, there will be no verbal communication between the dancers - all communication and interaction will be expressed through movement. It has been designed to encourage people to think about our connection to animals and to discover the animal within us all.
Janis Claxton, who will also be one of the performers, explains:
“’Enclosure 44 – Humans’ is a performance event that highlights the deep connection that humans and animals share. Each performer’s response will vary as they respond to this unique environment and audience members will have a rare opportunity to observe human nature through the universal language of dance.”
notes to editors:
About the Performance
- ‘Enclosure 44 – Humans’ runs from Tuesday 5 August till Saturday 16 August, but not Monday 11 August. They will be in the enclosure from 10am till 5pm.
- The dancers will be in an enclosure previously occupied by a European beaver and before that, rockhopper penguins. There is no internal area for the dancers but they have been supplied with waterproof suits by their sponsor, Artemis Investment Management.
- The performers are Janis Claxton, Skye Reynolds, Vikky Stewart, Libby Charlton and Kirki Kyrkou. The ‘Zoo Keepers’ will be played by Angus Balbernie and Clive Andrews.
- Feeding time will be 1pm – 2pm each day. The ‘Zoo Keepers’, both actors, will take food into the enclosure for them.
- The keepers will also present the ‘Human Animal Talk’ each day at 3pm.
About Dance Base
- Dance Base, Scotland's National Centre for Dance, encourages and celebrates the potential for dance in everyone. Providing classes and workshops for the community, masterclasses and residencies for professional dancers and an extensive programme of outreach work, Dance Base reaches out to inspire well-being and creativity, and cultivates a future for dance in our local, national and international communities.
- During the Edinburgh Festival Fringe our main studio is converted into an intimate performance space showcasing some of the best work from Scotland and around the world. Our festival café/bar is open throughout the day and is fully licensed, with free WiFi and daily newspapers it is the perfect place to relax between shows.
- Throughout the year the purpose built £7m dance facility in the heart of Edinburgh's old town is filled with 130+ dance classes every week - more than 2000 people participate in classes at Dance Base every week. The Professional programme exists to support and nurture professional dancers and their work at all levels through classes, workshops and a programme of residencies.
About Janis Claxton Dance
- Janis Claxton Dance is a contemporary dance company based in Edinburgh. The company creates choreographed works for touring in small-mid scale venues and site specific performance events for unique spaces. JCD is managed by Catalyst Dance Management Scotland and has recently been project funded by the Scottish Arts Council.