Company Chameleon showed a fascinating double bill of new work in a programme that demonstrated both the quality of the four dancers, and the talent of its choreographers.

Eden was created by Gemma Nixon and Jonathan Goddard, and is an exploration of the relationship between its two male dancers, Anthony Missen and Daniel Alonso, Alonso standing in for Missen’s co-director Kevin Edward Turner. They have added two women to the company — Elena Thomas and Gemma Nixon, and between the four we see hints of a passionate, intense relationship.

Performed in a gloomy environment, at first lit only by matches struck by the dancers, this is a powerful piece that lightens, and brightens, near the end.

Pictures We Make is another long but compelling examination of relationships, with the women here of equal standing with the men. It’s based on the long and shared history of its two creators, and is clearly about the need to avoid living as a lone agent.

There are expressions of loneliness, there is rejection, there is aggression, there is sex and there is love, as the foursome go through a series of adventures with each of the others as a partner. Central to all this is the desire for control — for control of a relationship and also control of the many moods and emotions each relationship spawns among those taking part.

There is a very lovely slow duet during the course of these events, but there are also passages of real violence. At last one couple stands in an embrace under a spotlight, while the other two dancers lay immobile and desolate on the ground.

This is a powerful and dramatic piece, performed by excellent dancers who also have the ability to convey the strength of the emotions we are being shown.

I should also mention this quartet also possess bucketfuls of stamina — these are demanding, and, I would imagine, mentally and physically exhausting works to perform.

Eden/Pictures We Make
Pegasus Theatre