The first program, which opened July 2, saw three short pieces before the interval: "Known By Heart Duet," "The Fuge" (danced without music) and "Westerly Round."
After the interval came an extraordinary piece, "Surfer at the River Styx." This is loosely based on Euripides' play The Bacchae and has a fabulous percussive score by Donald Knaak. The almost overpowering sense of energy is relaxed towards the end of the piece — the mood change reflected in a quick costume change, too, with the dancers wearing soft grey figure-hugging outfits — and the rhythm changes to a slower, almost hypnotic one.
