LEEDS company Phoenix Phoenix Dance Theatre are celebrating 35 years of excellence, diversity and innovation and brought a splendid trio of performances to the newly-refurbished York Theatre Royal.

The opening piece, Until.With/Out.Enough, was a facelifted creation by Itzil Galili; a disturbing, dystopian abstract. Its choreography gave the dancers an opportunity to enjoy and almost revel in the strength and precision their bodies could deliver from the almost divine madness of fluidity and chaos in some parts to the strict pattern and synthesis of others.

Undivided Loves by Kate Flatt then took us through a beautifully haunting rendition of the real and imagined gamut of behaviours love can produce as evoked by the sonnets of Shakespeare. Fragments of these works were read throughout a nuanced and near perfect performance by Prentice Whitlow as the Reader, ably supported by an ethereal Marie-Astrid Mence and vibrant Sam Vaherlehto.

This was followed by Bloom by Caroline Finn, an exploration of the tensions between the observational Clown and the rest of the company as Society. The choreography made full use of a limited stage and drew into sharp relief the individual stories of members of the societal group as watched and reacted to by the observing misfit.

Phoenix's programme of dance was a challenge visually, aurally and mentally. A superb and stimulating triple bill and an able demonstration of why this company is still going strong after 35 years.