Bermudian dance company Concepts In Motion played to a packed and enthusiastic house on Monday evening, and immersed a hungry audience in some striking contemporary dance complemented by an enthralling display of aerial ballet.

The programme comprised some 11 works by both Bermudian and international choreographers united in their contemporary vein and executed by a proficient and tightly drilled cast.

Although many of the pieces had a fairly abstract theme and at times were almost dark, the passion and enthusiasm on the dancers' faces lifted the whole to an infectious and celebratory level.

The inclusion of Concepts In Motion in this year's Bermuda Festival is a celebration of a two-fold anniversary. 2009 not only marks the 400th year since the Island's first settlement, but ten years since Bermudian Lizz Pimentel, owner and founder of the In Motion School of Dance, established Concepts.

She set up the company in 1999 with the aim of exposing talented local dancers and choreographers to performance opporunities both here and abroad, while building on the tutelage she was already providing as well as encouraging and exploring the amalgamation of various art forms.

In Motion has presented several company performances and annual dance showcases. With this one it chalks up another milestone as this production marks its first appearance in the Bermuda Festival.

The evening opened with a piece choreographed by Ms Pimentel entitled 'Hunter'. Creative and challenging, the work commenced with guest artist and soloist Ashley Lindsay emerging inverted from a suspended cloth hanging.

This was a play on shape and form with dancers appearing from intermittent blackness in a variety of poses and interweaving their movement with lengths of fabric, both horizontally and vertically.

The piece, as with the entire programme, was effectively and dramatically lit. The lighting threw shape and form into exciting visual relief which added variety in perspective and texture to a number of works showing less variation in choreography.

Like Ms Pimentel, choreographer Mr. Lindsay, a member of the famed José Limón dance company, in his work Sunrise, played on the dancers' individual strengths, exploiting their gift for limber and flexible movement, and this impressive elasticity was admirably controlled in its execution.

'Any Direction You Choose', by Bermudian choreographer Lauren Rowntree, was another fairly abstract contemporary piece but exhibiting an interesting play on weight and counter-weight, balance and counter-balance, with the ensemble realising an admirable unity in movement.

One of the show's highlight's followed. This was Ty Barker's captivating solo display of aerial artistry. As he danced vertically from ceiling to floor, his body intertwined in yards of flowing fabric, he held his audience spellbound. This was gravity-defying movement in a multi-dimensional realm where the art of balance takes on an entirely new meaning. Once again the piece was effectively lit, thus accentuating the beauty and steely precision of each movement.

'Torn', by Bermudian choreographer Jennifer Soares, offered an attractive and flowing trio performed by Mr. Lindsay with two of the company's leading dancers; Courtney Lopes and Whitnii Levan. Some challenging choreography involving creative lifts and tricky partnering was well handled, and the changing dynamic between the dancers well read.

The first act finished with 'Walking On Air' by Candice Musselman, which presented a contemporary play on contrast in movement echoed by the black on white costuming.

As a whole, the production boasted some exciting creativity and invention in dress. Some costumes were more effective than others but they were invariably eye-catching.

This was nowhere more true than in 'Contact', also by Mrs. Lopes, where dancers sporting curved cones on their heads interacted with a web-like fabric backdrop. This was a pacy number with unshakeable balance maintained in near body-contortions and gusset-splitting developé.

Another two of the show's highlights followed, beginning with 'Holding (Un)folding' by guest artist and prolific choreographer b.j. Sullivan. This piece expressed a wider vocabulary of movement and a lyrical fluidity. Its choreography as a whole was more mentally engaging and blessed with a strong performance from leading couple, Courtney Lopes and Ty Barker who were well matched.

Equally memorable was Mr. Lindsay's solo 'Take All of Me', which he choreographed and performed. Here was an artist who worked through each and every musical phrase with a delicious liquescence showing just how arrestingly beautiful contemporary dance can be.

'The Room', by award-winning guest choreographer Salim Gauwloos, and 'Words', a company number by Ms Soares, completed the evening. A lively and spirited performance from a dedicated cast here ensured the event ended on a high note and was greeted with rapturous applause as the curtain fell.