Review: Diavolo's Architecture in Motion goes a bit off-kilter

American company Diavolo Dance Theatre, created by director Jacques Heim in 1992, brings a mix of acrobatic stunts and urban dance to the stage. Heim's speciality is the use of huge structures on which the performers climb, slide, hang or jump, delivering a high-octane show.

The best sequence is Trajectoire, where the focus is a section of a full-sized ship which swings from side to side and undergoes a series of transformations. It starts slowly, with imaginative groupings which display the troupe's sense of balance, and builds to a climax with breathtaking leaps from the crest of the structure.

The performers' blazing energy, fearlessness and timing are impressive. On the downside, the focus on structures is limiting; the moves and the way the structures are used soon become repetitive.

Comparatively, Momix, a frequent visitor to Hong Kong, uses huge props as well, but not for every segment of the show - and Diavolo has none of Momix's poetry or powers of visual illusion.

In fact, the word "dance" in Diavolo's name is somewhat misleading. The brash, roughhouse style takes its cue from street dance - but while the performers are remarkable athletes and acrobats, they're not really dancers and the choreography is banal.