Siobhan Davies Dance, South London Gallery/Siobhan Davies Studios, London

Zoë Anderson
Thursday 04 November 2010 01:00 GMT
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(PARI NADERI)

ROTOR, the latest project from choreographer Siobhan Davies, uses dance as a prompt for other artists. Davies has commissioned a range of works, from performance pieces to sculptures, all drawing on her latest dance work. I liked Sam Collins's video installation, and wanted to steal Ben Tyers's gorgeous sculpture, but most of these works are lightweight.

ROTOR is driven by Davies's The Score, which shows a line of dancers pivoting around a central point, like the hand of a clock. Filmed from above, it was the cue for the other artists, from composers to poets.

In E V Crowe's Live Feed, the dancers go through the steps live, while discussing what they're doing. They argue about the best position, complain that the line isn't straight, worry that they're doing things wrong. The dialogue is plausible, but doesn't go anywhere. It's still stronger than Crowe's second text, in which a condescending voice suggests how to tie a knot, before congratulating himself on his input.

Davies' own A Series of Appointments, a variation on the theme of The Score, is an improvement. Dancers duck in and out of position, facing each other or running in new circles. Matteo Fargion's Songbook has the four dancers repeating patterns of words, notes and gestures. It's like an over-extended version of Fargion's duets with Jonathan Burrows, without the discipline.

I had more fun with Sam Collins's work, which surrounds a dining table with screens showing fragments of dinner party conversation from Hitchcock's Suspicion. Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine cast glances across the glassware.

Best of all, Ben Tyers's silver spiral turns on its plinth. As it spins, the metal sculpture seems to move and flow, like liquid – if liquid could pour up and down at the same moment.

To 14 November (08444 771 000)

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