Am I

In the beginning there was darkness, then a lone figure on a stage with a dim light pulsing behind her. Welcome to creation, contemporary dance-style. Shaun Parker's is an ambitious, densely packed work that explores what it means to be human.

With that lone figure, guest performer Shantala Shivalingappa, acting as our guide, Parker takes the audience on a journey through the history of human existence using surprising and inventive storytelling techniques. The score, created by Nick Wales and performed live, is a living, breathing thing, enveloping the audience and creating just the right kind of mood to make this piece work while the set design, though minimal, has the audience gasping in surprise when shown off to its full effect.

Whether telling the story of Adam and Eve using little more than hand gestures, or presenting a catalogue of deities with only a fan and some metal tubing as props, the dancers are given a lot of ideas to present to the audience. Shivalingappa's Mother Earth figure in the centre of the piece provides a calm stillpoint around whom Parker has built this show and her grace and quiet stillness sets off the visceral and dynamic movement happening around her.

Visually stunning and thought-provoking, Am I's own journey is only just beginning.