It sounded like a flock of supersonic bats had invaded the stage as Shobana Jeyasingh's dancers made their way across the floor, curving their bodies, twisting their heads and catching and pushing each other.

Electronic images of the dancers were projected in flickering green lines onto the backdrop, mirroring their actions as they made the space their own with moves incorporating martial arts and capoeira.

Sadly Michael Nyman's unsettling score forced some audience members to cover their ears. The arrangement of high-pitched, distorted beeps and overwhelmingly loud strings was just too much.

In contrast the second piece, Exit No Exit, was much more serene and at times comic.

One soloist seemed caught in a trap as she repeatedly tried to run off stage but was hurled back into the limelight by her fellow dancers.

Her final moment of resignation, when she slumped against a table and lit a cigarette, prompted a few laughs from the audience and broke the previously tense atmosphere.

Throughout the proceedings a bass clarinet player looked on from an umpire's chair at the corner of the stage.

His music floated out across the audience like a soothing tonic, ending the evening on a much more enjoyable and relaxing note.