Review: Trisha Brown Dance Company

Trisha Brown has been one of the key figures of modern dance in the US since the 1960s. An artist as well as a dancer/choreographer, she is known for her frequent collaborations with avant-garde artists and composers, notably Robert Rauschenberg and Laurie Anderson. Brown's company has not appeared in Hong Kong since 1988, so this was an important opportunity for local audiences to discover her distinctive style.

The opening programme offered four pieces, starting from 2011 and moving back through the '90s to the '80s. All demonstrated Brown's celebrated fluidity of movement, which has a strikingly natural quality, her musicality and her fine visual sense.

However, while the programme was well danced and aesthetically pleasing, there was a surprising lack of substance.

Interestingly, although the earlier works are considered among Brown's masterpieces, it was the later ones, created when Brown was in her 70s, which proved more satisfying, showing the choreographer's art reduced to its essence.

Rogues is a duet for two men who echo and occasionally interrupt each other's movements, now one leading, then the other. Set to a score by Alvin Curran, the piece is beautifully paced, starting slowly and building to an effective finale.