Pangaea Dance was so bad it was good! With 16 dancers on stage dressed in Watchmen masks and S & M gear, the company appeared to have rounded up a mixed ability ballet class and dragged them down to Torture Gardens for a night of debauchery. Nothing like Romeo and Juliet; as the programme stated it was based on, but nonetheless the bizarre performance was extremely entertaining.

Daniela B Larsen and Robert Guy produced a dynamic performance exploring the over-done theme of the ups and downs of a heterosexual relationship. The choreography was slick and inventive, and the soundscore poignant. I look forward to seeing this collaborative partnership tackle more challenging themes in the future.

The evening's standout performance had to be Taciturn's Hang your coat up, and stay a while. Four Northern lasses danced a well crafted, feel-good piece that allowed the performers' personalities to really shine. Witty text and the versatility of the modern-day cardigan were a highlight of this work.

Cloud Dance Festival has a diverse bill of high quality and not-quite-there-yet work, but this is the nature of the festival. The biggest round of applause should go to Cloud Dance for consistently working to support young and emerging choreographers and performers to develop and showcase their work in a professional manner.

Extract of review by Lorraine Smith for Remotegoat.