Spring Tour: DEFINED

Throughout this triple bill, Scottish Dance Theatre demonstrate excellent technique, expressive dancers and a commitment to both experimentation and professionalism.

Taking their cue from Rambert’s highly trained contemporary company, SDT fuse balletic precision with an unfamiliar vocabulary of movement.

The opening piece, tenderhook, is elegant and lithe: the dancers spin ribbons in the style of gymnasts and work in pas de deux that are evocative of maternal love. Ezio Bosso’s eclectic score moves the dancers rapidly through sombre and dynamic moods, with their lyricism matched by his rich orchestration.

Dramatic lighting guides the atmosphere- dancers are bathed in thin beams of white, or suddenly plunged into darkness, reduced to tiny, whirling fluorescent specs: Liv Lorent has choreographed a wonder of lightness and delicacy. Sensual, yet not erotic, it takes full advantage of the company’s skill.

A lesser work follows: In The Middle Of The Moment originally accompanied a tour by chamber orchestra the Hebrides Ensemble, and is a perfunctory duet that suffers from a lack of imagination and a surfeit of characterisation. Dance is the perfect medium for the exploration of relationships: the pas de deux is suited to detailed examination of male-female passion. Unfortunately, Uri Ivgi and Johan Greben have choreographed a lumpen duet, relying on a stereotypical aggressive male and barely relating the forceful movement to the mournful music. Toby Fitzgibbons mugs gamely, and Victoria Roberts executes spectacular kicks, but the effect is uncomfortably comic.

After a short pause, DOG attempts to rescue the evening. Once again, the score is critical, as choreographer Hofesh Schechter has created a rather busy soundscape that leaps jarringly between Brazilian samba and electronic bleeps. In spite of bursts of literalism – the dancers on all fours, or formation dancing to the samba beat – DOG never really resolves into a clear narrative, preferring a series of vignettes.

Schechter is especially imaginative when working with larger combinations of dancers, entwining lines of three and four in fascinating, mutable combinations. The actual movements are rather limited, and the company are rather wasted on generic funky struts: however, DOG is almost a tour de force of versatility, compelling the dancers through exuberance and reflection.

DOG is a more jazzy version of tenderhook, the gentle charm substituted for a vibrant confusion. Schechter’s work shows promise, while Lorent’s is more polished: together they showcase a company capable of taking on the challenges posed by the Scottish Ballet.