Cape Academy of Performing Arts presents a showcase of their students that more than holds its own against many of the professional companies at the Festival. This is one of CAPAs two shows; they have chosen to separate their Performing Arts showcase and Dance showcase which undoubtedly gives as many students as possible the chance to perform at the Fringe; but overall dilutes what could have otherwise been a hot ticket this summer.There isnt a story that I noticed, each dance being performed in isolation, which isnt a problem except that with slightly less-than-slick transitions and a few dancers guilty of hovering slightly onstage for their entrance due to the small army of people crushing into the wings it does give the feeling of watching amateurs. With the quality of creatives clearly driving this project it would have been nice to see the singularly impressive episodes woven together into a full show. Perhaps with a title. There is also a monologue and several numbers (A Chorus Line, Rent) which although performed with a smile and the absolutely-straight lines on stage slightly remind me of being back at secondary school.The performance of A Chorus Lines Tits and Ass is a fairly symptomatic example of the production as a whole. The young lady (who was so naturally beautiful she will never need plastic surgery) has been asked to sing a song that needs to be sexually sold while dancing to very twee, flat, boring choreography that means the message of the song is lost. Presumably this is because of her status as a student a complication that is the ultimate flaw of this show.Bringing a production to Edinburgh allows work to be internationally showcased some of the hottest talent this year has come from young companies if an educational training establishment brings students here they should give them the MAXIMUM opportunity for exposure they can, concentrating the talent and selling the CAPA brand.Undoubtedly this South African training establishment has a world-class dance faculty; the attention to detail in the dance work is astounding and some of the choreography is startlingly good and I havent even seen the other dance show yet. This alone puts these students in the market as top quality dancers, to then see them forced into a chorus line for a predictable last number was disappointing and real cringe-worthy moment.With a little artistic streamlining and some concept development Im sure CAPA will return to the Festival as a must-see show.
