What does dance mean to you? Do you go to dance theatre and religiously read the programme before the performance starts or do you watch the dance and try to work out what the whole means to you? Several questions, but only one answer and all different to the individual. Phoenix Dance Theatre are taking their brand of dance for a nationwide tour, and here is a look at what they have to offer.

First they gave the mixed audience a piece called “The fact that it goes up” with the full cast walking to their positions and then doing their choreographed thing. The hypnotic manufactured music was reminiscent of trains hurtling through the London Underground, banging and clattering to become music to make movement to. This is what choreographer Jeremy Nelson was doing with Douglas Henderson’s music and trying to tell a story, but did he succeed, not quite for this is only one interpretation of what was on offer and yours will be different. Was it people going about their everyday travel though the depths and eventually come up to ground level or was it what was said in the programme. Your choice when you see it.

The next piece was called “Me and You” and showed the relationship between two male dancers. The choreographer was Fin Walker and the composer was Ben Park with a piece for two falsetto male singers William Purefoy and Gabriel Gottlieb who drifted rhythmically into a Latin experience. The dancing was first rate, but alas the programme leaves the reader to find out who they are and this deduction leads to ? and ?. Perhaps it changes with each performance, but it would be nice to know. The lifts and interaction between these two dancers keep the audience entranced.

The third piece had scenery and an up front story dealing with the days after a child goes missing and leads to the title “Requiem”. Sympathetic and finely observed, the story by Phoenix Dance Theatre’s artistic director, choreographer Darshan Singh Bhuller, and the repetitive music, hypnotic with melody, by Jocelyn Pook, gave each dancer scope to express themselves and show the quality of their dancing. Finnish dancer Tiia Ourila as the mother was particularly impressive in this traumatic story and was well supported by this fine cast. The saying “climbing up the wall” was well expressed in this piece and showed the frustration of the individuals in the action as they danced their way to its conclusion.

The audience gave a standing ovation to this company of dancers for giving them what they expected and got to satisfy their thirst for the dance. © BA

“Phoenix Dance” is in Leeds from the 13th until the 15th February, 2003 and then follows a nationwide tour.