The Millenarium

To judge from its presentation at the Firkin Crane Centre, Cork, the Random Dance Company is anything but random; the work in…

To judge from its presentation at the Firkin Crane Centre, Cork, the Random Dance Company is anything but random; the work in The Millenarium is intensely deliberate, built into a programme of movement which is both complex and austere.

Choreographer Wayne McGregor explores the relationships between the physical body and the technology of modern life: the setting by Vicki Mortimer and lighting by Lucy Carter are layered with opaque screens, flat-lines and laser beams, the costuming (Ben Maher) is given a metallic scaled texture and the music (Zoviet-France) has levels of abrasive sound scraping off one another. In his own sequences McGregor suggests both mutation and immutability. The ensemble dancing has episodes of lyrical sophistication, with much of the composition suggesting agonised reflections, given the context of the music of industrial drains, leakages and railway platforms. The choreographic coherence is compelling, especially in moments of splendidly achieved alignments which reveal the intimate connections of muscle, ligament and rhythm that distinguish McGregor's style.

Mary Leland

Mary Leland is a contributor to The Irish Times specialising in culture