Curve Foundation having a ball

ROSS COOPER never intended to become an internationally renowned dancer. In fact, his rise to the top happened entirely by chance.

"I got into dance by coincidence, through transport issues," he says. "My sister was a dancer and I had to wait after school for her to finish and our parents to pick her up.

"The teacher always used to ask me if I wanted to join in but I always said no, not with the girls, and sat in the changing rooms. Then one day she said, 'What about without the girls', and I didn't really have an excuse then.

"That teacher comes to our shows and sits in the audience. I imagine she's quite pleased. If I hadn't need a lift home, I wouldn't have got into dance and my life would've been very different."

Cooper is now the artistic director of The Curve Foundation Dance Company, a resident company at the Brunton Theatre in Musselburgh.

On Tuesday they host a gala performance at the King's Theatre to celebrate their tenth anniversary, a few miles and a whole world away from where they started out.

"When I got the opportunity to come and choreograph in Scotland, we were thinking where can we work, where can we rehearse?" Cooper recalls.

"And the only place available was the Triangle Arts Centre in Pilton, which doubled as a drug rehabilitation centre. It was quite interesting.

"The people of Pilton were quite taken with the scenario. They'd ask us questions about things, like why the dancers wore socks when they practiced, and about how much food they ate. I think it gave them a real insight into dance." A grant from the Scottish Arts Council soon followed, which allowed the company to bring in renowned choreographers and build their repertoire, working with as many as 20 different choreographers and 25 international artists.

Cooper feels the company's home in Musselburgh helps them draw a diverse crowd.

"The Brunton Theatre's a very municipal place," he explains. "People go there to pay their council tax, they can get married there, and until recently there was a courtroom there. People are in and out all the time, and because of that they get to chat to the dancers and become familiar with them.

"Our audience covers a very wide demographic, our productions aren't made for the Bank of Scotland front three rows."

Cooper believes that The Curve Foundation have made a significant contribution to the Scottish dance scene.

"What we communicate doesn't have a narrative structure. I think that's why we reach such a wide demographic, because it means a lot of things to different people. Okay, it isn't a story. But it gives people a feeling, or a colour. Just through movement."

A full decade after his somewhat lowly start in Pilton, Cooper says he never had any doubts about the viability of creating a new modern dance company in his home city of Edinburgh.

"I was convinced it was possible," he says. "There was a void that needed to be filled. I've always felt like I was doing the right thing in the right place. We're now the third biggest dance company in Scotland."

The Curve Foundation is an integral part of the local community, and Cooper says that growing up in Leith had an undeniable influence on his creative vision.

"Scottish dance was my first education in movement. That's my foundation," he says. "Because I'm from Scotland my evolution happened here and my work's inherently linked to the evolution of Scottish dance. It's a distinct process and a different form of articulation – like a local accent in a way."

Another local link is with Irvine Welsh, the company's famous patron who has helped solidify their high profile.

"He's a major Scottish artist and epitomises what we're about, he's of a similar ilk," explains Cooper. "He's not very knowledgeable about dance, but he's fast becoming a fan and he's extremely supportive of our work.

"A major triumph was working with Merce Cunningham. For a group of dancers from Musselburgh to work with the greatest living choreographer alive in New York was great," he muses.

"The high point of the whole ten years was probably working on this week's gala. It's a major, full-length piece and we're working with four choreographers. It's going to be a major night.

"When we get onstage and we turn around people's perceptions about what dance is, that's our reward."

• The Four Seasons Gala Performance, King's Theatre, Leven Street, Tuesday, 7.30pm, £5-£17.50, 0131-529 6000