Rebus

Since some improvised performances can be toe-curling, it was nice to be able to agree an early comment by dancer Cindy Cummings that “this music makes you want to point your toes”.

My toes were happily stretched for the rest of Rebus’s performance and in spite of the inevitable uneveness in improvised performance, Cummings, Maggie Harvey and Nick Bryson maintained a constant rhythm of energy and ideas, many prompted by the elevator, staircase and hidden spaces of the derelict Arthouse.

Although some contact work looked awkward, the three filled out the loose structure in individual ways: Harvey clearly highlights inner connections and seeks out flows of energy between twisted limbs, whereas Cummings seeks to elongate every impulse physically, verbally and dramatically.

Nick Bryson, particularly in his solo, was alone in finding moments of real release bordering on the uncontrollable. Neil C Smith’s live-mixed soundscore sometimes suggested, sometimes reflected but always kept momentum behind the movement. (****)