Rambert, the oldest dance company in Britain, presented four stylistically diverse dances from its extensive repertoire: Unrest, Hurricane, Ghost Dances and Cheese.

It is difficult to say which was the best because theywere all totally riveting and masterfully executed.

If I had to choose a highlight, it would be Ghost Dances, a complex and intriguing movement choreographed by the company's artistic director, Christopher Bruce.

Human-rights themes have been a strong source of inspiration for Bruce, as seen in his works Swansong and Cruel Garden.

In the programme,he said Ghost Dances was a tribute to "the innocent people of South America who have been continuously devastated by political oppression".

Bruce's interpretation of this devastation was stark and compelling.

The dance was set against the painted backdrop of an arid wasteland, a place inhabited by three "ghost dancers".

Their bodies were painted white with black paint to highlight the muscles. Shredded loincloths and skull masks harked back to primitive South American death rituals.

As they dominated the stage with their intense physicality, there was no music, only the chilling soundtrack of wind howling over the landscape.

This was a sharp contrast to the South American folk music danced to by the "walking dead".

I concluded that if the "walking dead" were meant to represent the South Americans, their dances were analogous to their spirit and culture, which they held on to despite the soul-sapping oppression they had to deal with.

Hurricane, another Bruce piece, was a star turn for Paul Liburd, who did a fantastic job of interpreting the story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, an African-American boxer who was framed for murder in the Sixties.

What was so fascinating was the range of characters that Liburd managed to play in just eight minutes.

The piece was set to Bob Dylan's song Hurricane, which details Carter's story.

Unrest, which opened the show, and the finale, Cheese, were two diametrically-opposed movements.

Choreographed by Richard Alston, Unrest was a gentle yet expressive and intimate piece.

In contrast, the pumping drum 'n' bass music used for Cheese gave it a distinctly frenetic vibe. Choreographed by the late Jeremy James, it was a funky and stylish end to the evening.

The Rambert Dance Company will return to the Theatre Royal next year.

Review by Franka Philip, franka.philip@theargus.co.uk