Bounce, Sadler's Wells, London

The sheer joy of dancing in the street

Even if it were a lousy show (which it isn't), I would have to admire Bounce for the audience it is bringing to Sadler's Wells. Lots and lots of youngsters; plenty of ordinary families, mum and dad with the children; and notably more black faces than usual in London theatres. This lively, straightforward production is actually doing at Sadler's Wells what Matthew Bourne's pretentious Play without Words was meant to do at the Lyttelton.

And, having got there, aren't people enjoying it. They clap along, they join in vocally when invited, and many of the kids were so excited by the build-up (you get music while entering, and Lez Brotherston's urban setting is already on display) that they actually cheered before it started; have you ever previously known that?

So what are they getting? Well, do you remember those troupes from various Soviet republics that used to have such a success with their programmes of Cossack or Georgian or whatever other dances, all virtuosity and exotic glamour? This is along similar lines, except that the exoticism is that of "street dancing" – which, of course, is not something that we habitually see in the streets.

I will not try to define hip hop and lindy hop, locking and popping, boogaloo and breaking, old skool and new skool. But you're probably familiar (and if you're not, you should be) with that trick of spinning fast while balanced upside down on the crown of your head – absolutely brilliant. And besides that, here is a similar trick – turning on your forearm. We have all seen tricks on skateboards, although probably none as daring as those you get here.

There are somersaults, forward or back, cartwheels, and more different ways of twisting in the air while jumping than you would think possible. Ballet steps, too, and some tap, although that's really more slap, bang, wallop. Ensembles range from languorous to aggressive. Even DJ Hazze, who is vast and seems at first to be present for his rapping, proves as full of dance tricks as the best of them.

Some of these dances are historic, from the 1920s, Seventies and Eighties; some are so up to the minute that they probably haven't been invented yet. I assume that crediting the choreography to the company means that everyone is responsible for their own stunts. And what stunts; I note with interest the programme acknowledgement for production insurance, not something I remember noticing elsewhere.

Anthony van Laast is the overall director, and Patrick Woodroffe's lighting plots are as active as the cast. But primarily it's the physicality of the 15 performers, individually and as a team, that counts: they're on the go, all out, for 75 non-stop minutes, and they're just terrific.

To 14 Sept (020-7863 8000)