It takes vision, imagination and verve for a company of young performers to tackle a masterpiece such as Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Wirksworth INdependDANCE, following a very successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2008 (“Genius!” Richard Demarco), not only tackle it, but succeed in producing an intense, moving and aesthetically beautiful piece of contemporary dance theatre.

The original score is interpreted with musicality and sensitivity, whilst an adapted narrative grapples with the emotional battlefield of transition from girlhood to womanhood. The dancers take us through an honestly expressed journey encompassing loss, anticipation and the testing of the bonds of friendship. The result is an exciting reinvention that celebrates life and captures the spirit of the original in its combination of fury, passion and tenderness.

In this ambitious venture, Wirksworth INdependDANCE (joined in this production by three professional dancers), live up to their reputation for imaginatively conceived, carefully crafted and inventive dance theatre, successfully continuing to bring new ideas to the genre. The Rite of Spring may be a large piece on the repertoire to fill, but this company doesn’t let it down.