Bonachela Dance Company: Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham

2:22pm Wednesday 14th May 2008

Two years ago the Everyman Theatre presented the first performance by the newly formed Bonachela Dance Company. This was quite a coup, but - judging by the pitifully small audience onTuesday - it did not go down well in Cheltenham. Rafael Bonachela had a distinguished career as a dancer with Rambert, and has since become a prize-winning choreographer. His work is in the vanguard of serious contemporary dance, but he has also worked in the pop industry with the likes of Kylie Minogue, Tina Turner, The Kills and Primal Scream. Perhaps this is what led him to choose Marius de Vries - whose experience is in pop music and films - as the composer for his new piece Square Map of Q4, whatever that means.

This is a startlingly severe work, with a soundtrack of distorted effects like scraping metal, crunching, whistling, gibbering and a mournful contralto sometimes swooping over the top. It's an attempt to evoke the processes of memory, though it's hard to see what these memories might be. But put aside - if you can - the ear-torturing soundtrack and the migraine-inducing lighting effects, and you see a group of six dancers (when they're not shrouded in mist or vaporised by images projected on to their bodies) in a powerfully crafted work of sustained pessimism. These are not happy people as they writhe and roll, clench and unclench in Bonachela's cruel movement.

The dancers - particularly the superb Amy Hollingsworth - make a fine job of what they're asked to do. There are moments of real magic, in particular a long and intricate duet performed mainly on the floor, but if this piece is about memories it's about painful ones. There's nothing new any more about choreographers using projections and flashing lights and synthesised soundtracks; the ideal of blending light, sound and dance into a coherent work of art is a fine one, but you have to be careful that the ingredients you put together make a tasty dish. Those who saw this show will feel that they have seen a work that is flawed but exciting - but I doubt they will want to see it a second time.

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