In Dance Sampled, we are witness to ten minute extracts of dance from companies in genres including Flamenco, Tango, Contemporary, Ballet and Break. This example of how to see dance and also how we can become audiences of dance is a really interesting and intriguing one.

Delivered by The Movement, a collaborative from Birmingham Hippodrome, Saddlers Wells and The Lowry, all are committed to bringing a new wave of watching, focussing on accessibility and inclusivity. The collection of work is an exceptional evening of dance from 8 dancemakers who enthral the audience. It is wonderful to see that the audience present matches the variety and diversity of the performances in a packed out Lyric theatre.

Before each performance we’re introduced to the work with a projected interview on stage with the performers or choreographer. This is insightful, it lands the work for the audience and magnifies the eloquence of language we have for the variety of performances we are celebrating.

Flamenco trio dotdotdot open the evening with flamenco collaborations in a sublime cacophony, fan opening across live guitar across vocals from Javier Ribera across dancers beating through canons of dance from the determined trio and layered with lyrics from spoken word artist Toni Stuart, magnificent!

BBC Young Dancer of the Year 2015, Conor Scott holds the centre of the evening with a majestic physicality, presence and creativity. His original piece is a wonderful exploration of loneliness, nostalgia and joy.

The audience welcome the essence of purity in The Faun danced beautifully by Yanelis Godoy and Julio Torres, choreography by Sidi Larbi, Cherkaoui originally danced by James O’Hara & Daisy Philips with Music by Claude Debussy and Nitin Sawhney.

The evening culminates in a daring performance by bgroup The Ruggeds from Holland dancing with skills that I have never experienced before, they’re pushing boundaries, skating across the floor in inversions, twisting in the air with raw energy and landing like tigers. The have a capacity for danger and play, a really exciting performance.

The dancers and the dances throughout this evening have an extraordinary flare and each have a really unique talent, which makes the evening a real spectacle. The beauty of this project lies not only in the stunning performances but the accessibility of it, the highly engaging bite-sized excerpts give audiences a chance to experience a broad range of dance at affordable prices, with tickets available for just £15. In addition to this audience members were also invited to participate in a wide variety of workshops activities within the theatre foyer across the two day stay, an enormously engaging evening and a great opportunity to experience all dance has to offer. Highly recommended.

Guest reviewer: Kate Jackson