Raizes, South Bank Centre, London

Raizes begins with the dancer Jean Abreu in acute angles, his torso tilted as far as his fedora hat. His shoulders - one lifted, one dropped - make a sharp, straight line. Abreu has an easy flow of movement, giving a velvety softness to his most jagged poses. Born in Brazil, he began training in Latin ballroom dancing before moving to London and modern dance. In 2003, he won the Jerwood Choreography Award. With Raizes, Portuguese for "roots", he returns to Brazilian dance and music.

This show is part of the SBC's "Rhythm Sticks" percussion festival. The dancers and four musicians slip in and out of the performance. Abreu's musical response is variable, particularly when the band change tempo. He doesn't fall out of step but he takes a moment to settle into the shifting rhythms. Finding the music's pulse, he looks happily at home in it. As a choreographer, he has a sense of a movement's texture. These dances aren't highly structured - I didn't notice patterns or formal organisation - but they don't just meander. Moment by moment, the dancing draws you in.

Raizes uses a range of Brazilian dance styles. Abreu often emphasises the ritual qualities of these movements but also their sociability. In the first section, he shuffles and mooches, striking poses. There's more strutting from Letitia Pereira, who stalks on ready for a series of duets. Pereira and Abreu make a confident pair, sweeping through lifts and clinches. Their tango has a jostling speed, fast but also hurried. But their samba is irresistible.

In a second section, Abreu returns barefoot, in cream pyjamas. These winding, curling moves show off the full stretch of Abreu's dancing. Though he's stockily built, his movement is fluid. Phrases are long but weighted.

Abreu is joined by Ponciano Almeida, a leaner, lighter dancer who has some of the same elasticity of movement. Almeida is a specialist in capoeira, a dance that is also a martial art. In the past two decades, this has been a popular influence on Russell Maliphant's gentle, unfurling dances. Danced by Almeida and Abreu, capoeira looks heftier: you're always aware of the force behind these sliding moves - the sense of a sober contest.