Cycle One (60º) @ Greenside

Essentially, Cycle One (60º) is a dance interpretation of a washing machine cycle. In-Transit Dance manages to bring this to life – at least, on the surface.

Just as clothes often do, the dancers stretch and overlap, languishing at the bottom of the drum of this imaginary washing machine. Occasionally they collide, clumping together, a single mass with many limbs. In-Transit makes good shapes as dancers transfer balance between one another.

The ‘spin dry’ part of the cycle sends the dancers into a frenzy. Shaking, they crash around, thrown against the walls of the stage. An overhead lift is impressively repeated many times.

Taken at face value, this is a fun piece of contemporary dance; an imaginative subject creatively performed. However, according to the programme, Cycle One (60º) claims it "questions the everyday mundane through play", and explores people’s struggle to become clean and what it means to be dirty. Unfortunately this is not particularly apparent, and only the opening and closing sequences show much emotional depth in an otherwise shallow performance.

At the start, the dancers rouse each other from sleep to take part in the wash cycle, gently but furiously rubbing each other as if dusting each other down for inspection. In the final scene, they slowly pat and stroke each another again, embracing as if the wash had been a traumatic experience.

If this sensitivity could be spread further throughout the performance, Cycle One (60º) would be more than merely fun.