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Theatre: Phoenix Dance Theatre

Phoenix rises to challenge yet again

Phoenix Dance Theatre

West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds

4 Stars

Ahead of an eventful year that will include a major collaboration for the Tour de France 100-day cultural festival, Phoenix Dance Theatre's latest mixed programme opens with Didy Veldman's See Blue Through, which the company first performed in 2005.

An underwater odyssey, it remains fresh and mysterious as the fluid movements of seven dancers are reflected and distorted in a bank of overhead mirrors.

Slowly swaying and duetting, their elasticity is shared by costumes that snap and stretch like the tentacles of a jellyfish.

The litheness of that piece is sharply contrasted with Document, one of the first works created in Britain by Dutch choreographic duo Ivgi & Greben.

Set to Tom Parkinson's quasi-industrial score, the five dancers jerk and shuffle down a white walkway while surrounded by darkness and dry ice.

Claustrophobic and post-apocalyptic, the exploration of bleak human emotions evokes images of Blade Runner in its repressive ascetic.

It's a mood thats broken with Mapping, by former Phoenix artistic director Darshan Singh Bhuller. Inspired by his father's journey from East to West, the piece brilliantly combines real-time video projections and aerial perspectives.

At times confusing, at times witty, the angles allow the company of nine to dance flat on the floor along a white line that signifies their geographical journey.

Despite its humour, the piece has an almost philosophical quality that contrasts effectively with the fluidity and darkness of the rest of the bill.

Yet another successful programme for Phoenix.

Touring until May 30. Details: www.phoenixdancetheatre.co.uk

Susan Darlington

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