Spring Loaded Returns To The Place, London

Launched in 1987, Spring Loaded was the first programme of work curated by John Ashford, who celebrates his 20th anniversary as Theatre Director at The Place this year. As a platform for Britain's most exciting and radical young choreographers, Spring Loaded presented works by now-household names such as Matthew Bourne, Wayne McGregor, Lloyd Newson, Shobana Jeyasingh, Lea Anderson and Russell Maliphant.

Kicking off on 13 & 14 April, Nina Rajarani's Srishti presents Quiet, Please!, a full-length work incorporating her recent piece, QUICK, which clinched the coveted Place Prize in 2006. Rajarani's work maintains the authenticity of Bharatanatyam while pushing the classical Indian dance form into the modern world: her dancers are businessmen in suits as well as ladies in saris and the choreography is paced at lightning speed.

Choreographers Laila Diallo, Sonia Sabri and Hanna Gillgren present three very different solos on a triple bill on 17 & 18 April. Created and performed by Laila Diallo, waiting fleeing merges film and dance in a piece inspired by Hiroshi Sugimoto's photographs of seascapes. Inspired by Sufi philosophy and religious ritual, Sonia Sabri uses the intricate language of kathak dance to express the yearnings of the soul in Spill, which was created for The Place Prize in 2006. Also on the programme, Hanna Gillgren of h2dance performs the world premiere of One, a fast-paced solo celebrating the multiplicity and contradictions of identity.

Sally Marie's Sweetshop Revolution takes a light-hearted look at the humour and contradictions of human nature in relation to conflict in Dulce et Decorum (21 April). A piece for four dancers, Dulce et Decorum is a cross between Mike Leigh and Green Wing with free ice cream.

Created by Ben Duke and Raquel Meseguer, Lost Dog presents the story of one man's night out at the theatre. Hungry Ghosts (24 & 25 April) is an exploration of the moment our life crosses from the real to the surreal as one theatregoer struggles to understand how he ended up on the wrong side of the curtain, an unwilling performer in someone else's terrifying show. This year's recipient of the Robin Howard Foundation Commission, Hungry Ghosts is a world premiere.

Brazilian dancer-choreographer Jean Abreu (27 & 28 April) lends his trademark fusion of Latin sensuality, athletic capoeira and contemporary dance to two new works. Inspired by a visit to the Amazon, Aequus finds its energy in the cyclical lifeforce of nature, blending live music, movement and text. In Dialogo dancer and musician explore the relationship between sound and movement in an innovative, intimate duet.

Fleur Darkin leads the four dancers of her Darkin Ensemble into the notorious 19th century Parisian insane asylum, La Salpetrière, in Augustine (1 & 2 May). Through a clever examination of the relationship between cerebral and physical aspects of dance which has been based on actual characters, a brilliant doctor discovers a new science of the mind by studying the bodies of his 4000 patients, of which his favourite is 15-year-old Augustine.

In a triple bill on 4 & 5 May, Greek dancer and choreographer Zoi Dimitriou performs her first solo work Can You See Me?, a charming, playful portrait of the artist based on perceptions of the self, and Finnish-born Satu Tuomisto presents the UK premiere of Mirjami and Mikael, a quirky duet featuring stretched underpants, remote controlled cars, 1970's wallpaper and saunas. Irven Lewis' 2 Hard 2 Breathe explores the dynamics of male relationships in the modern urban world through a mix of street, hip hop and contemporary dance set to lyrics by poet Juice Aleem.

State of Emergency's Mission Re-Position (8 & 9 May) features the work of four female choreographers - Menelva Harry, Jeanefer Jean Charles, Louise Katarega and Zezé Kolstad - with a missionary zeal to introduce audiences to black dance artists. Drawing on contemporary jazz, street, Brazilian dance and martial arts, Mission Re-Position focuses on themes of black cultural heritage and what it means to be a woman.

A collective led by Ben Ash, Henrietta Hale and Rachel Lopez de la Nieta, The Dog Kennel Hill Project (11 & 12 May) collaboratively creates work that is subtle, witty and surprising. In the world premiere of The Odd Honesty Code, which was commissioned by The Place, Scott Smith joins the company for an epic journey in which four people search through alien cultures and confront demons with intense physicality. Created for The Place Prize 2006, Man or Fish is a series of stripped-down experiments, observing the substance of two men dancing. Choreographed by Henrietta Hale and performed by Ben Duke and Seke Chimutengwende, the piece is a collaboration with sound artist, Angie Atmadjaja.

Anjali Dance Company's accomplished cast of performers with learning disabilities, presents Something Wild, a triple bill of untamed dance, on 15 May. Save the Last Dance by Vincent Dance Theatre pits the public male persona against an often hidden masculine sensitivity as three lads bond on an alcohol-fuelled night out, while New Art Club's Saloon explores love, death and dancing in the Wild West.

Choreographed by Suzette Neptune and directed by Nicole Thomson, Butterfly was inspired by classic film choreography (West Side Story) and extreme cinematic technique (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).

Introspective choreographer and former Random Dance Company member Jane Mason presents Come On Sun, the premiere of an evening of work derived from three solos and set to live music on 16 May. Dark and brooding, The Brow is contrasted by Baby, an optimistic appreciation of the pleasures of life. Choreographed for The Place Prize 2006 to accompanying piano and trombone, Come On Sun is an emotionally charged coming of age story and is delicately personal yet bravely honest.

Set to a soundtrack spanning Nick Cave, Sonic Youth, Tom Waits and Domenico Scarlatti and featuring a seven-strong cast in ghostly regalia, Mark Bruce Dance Company's Sea of Bones (18 & 19 May) is a surreal journey into the murky subconscious of the world of dreams. The full-length piece employs Bruce's signature raw and visceral choreography tinged with tenderness, infusing classic tales of ancient mythology with a touch of modern soap opera.

Eddie Nixon, Associate Director at The Place, said Spring Loaded was the season in the late 80's and 90's that nurtured the generation of dance artists who now sit at the top of the contemporary dance tree. The season came to an end as that generation flew the nest with the last millennium. Now it is eight years later and another flock of dance makers has emerged creating work that is confident, idiosyncratic and unconfined by technical dogma. The breadth of their talent excites us and is so deserved of a platform that in 2007, 20 years after its inception, Spring Loaded is returning. -- www.theplace.org.uk