Naive Dance Masterclass @ C ECA

Inconvenient Spoof seems to specialise in productions that combine a Live Art intelligence with a broad, cheeky, sense of humour. Taking on "contemporary dance" - a genre that has a bad public image, some seriously pretentious artists and a label that is meaningless - is a pretty easy target. And while the monologue that starts the show is awkward and witty, and the actual dance slapstick, fun, there is a lack of compassion in the writing and direction that means that the satire fails to bite.

The story of an ex-dancer who becomes a policeman, then returns to dance after meeting a beautiful busker imitates Heidegger's description of the path to authentic being. Yet the dance itself is a deeply inauthentic piss-about, more a representation of what modern choreography might be in the mind of someone who has only read about it. As a meta-analysis of the public understanding of dance, it could be sharp and precise: in the context, where it plays for cheap laughs, it's some guy acting like a knob.

Spoof's previous entry in the Fringe, which looked at animal experimentation had a similar problem: the seed of a serious idea is allowed to blossom into silly gags. The characters in the show - dancer, copper, illegal immigrant - are stereotypes and never shown any compassion. There are moments of brilliance: when the third dance routine suddenly turns into reality, with puppets, pregnancy and passion; the melancholic ending; the ease of Matt Rudkin's chat. Yet without compassion, or a genuine look at the dance it seeks to mock, this class fails to master its material.