Ella Clarke, Julie Lockett and Cindy Cummings are the trio of dancers in this brand new work, shaped for them by American experimental choreographer Deborah Hay.

It begins as Clarke wanders around the half lit stage; carefully lifting her feet, a signature gesture she maintains and as if beginning to investigate the ground she treads, each step is tentative. She trills to herself or imagined personae in an unknown tongue as though seeking direction.

When Lockett emerges, girlish in a white dress, her trademark remembered gestures are jerky and anxious. We watch as she tries to oil them into more extended and confident moves, all the while joined and shadowed by Clarke, the two whispering neither in unison nor in dialogue.

A duet of sorts eventually does begin and fluency is almost visible as we wait for the third dancer Cummings to add her presence to this process of unlearning and relearning. The movement which emanates from Cummings seems even more covert and floor bound reiterating the hovering patterns of her fellow dancers who are disengaged and disoriented from themselves, their bodies and the space.

In a previous outing with director Jason Byrne, Genesis Collective successfully illuminated the playfulness as well as the seriousness of Hay’s work. However in this   show, the energy and lightness seem stifled and the director’s baton fails to transform this into strong theatrical performance.

Seona Mac Réamoinn