There is a progression throughout the Jonathan Burrows Group programme, which opened last Thursday night. For the first eight minutes there was only rhythm, produced with astonishing resonance and variation of tone by composer Matteo Fargion from three cardboard boxes. Then more sound and hand movement were added in a duet between Fargion at the piano and the hands of Burrows. With All Together, arms followed hands and body followed arms as Dana Fouras and Ragnhild Olsen joined Burrows in the flailing, slicing, chopping and twisting movements which form his unique vocabulary.
After the interval, legs, feet, shoulders and head were also activated by the loose-limbed Burrows in a solo which is part one of the title piece, Things I Don't Know. I felt it should have been called Feelings I Can't Express, for he seemed to be gesticulating wildly with impassive, mask-like face.
Then, in part two, Fouras and Olsen seemed to communicate with each other to the extent of imitating, perhaps even competing with one another, though in a series of short sequences and without music, adding facial expression and occasional curves to the angular movement. Finally, in Singing, the human voice was added and Lynne Bristow and Burrows ultimately reached a point where they were dancing together, even holding hands.
On this occasion, Burrows's choreography seems not so much cerebral as expressing the frustration of autism, disproving any belief that dancing is communicating through movement, either to partner or audience, but it requires, and received, technical brilliance in its execution.
Final performance tonight.