The Silos are a seductive space. The stark discoloured concrete, endless echoing acoustics and cathedral-like heights are an invitation to explore, and to subvert. They lend themselves as easily to dystopian severity as to playful irreverence and form an intriguing backdrop for any performance whether it be crafted with the space as an integral participant, or not.

They are a seductive but, equally, an ambitious space in which to stage a site-specific performance. In aiming to work with both the architecture and the play of the sound of bodies within it Xinia Alderson and Trip Stumble Fall collective have set up a complex and multifaceted problem. And while Seeing Sound has some truly beautiful moments, and is a coherent and watcheable piece of contemporary dance, it ultimately fails to fully explore or deliver on these complexities.

There is, however, enjoyment in stalking the dancers through the space, particularly if one resists the easy option of simply following them as they move from silo to silo.We are invited at the start of the piece to choose our own vantage points and it would be nice to see the structures of the choreography further developed to encourage this. The glimpses of bodies caught around edges are fascinating. I find myself deliberately moving away from the staged performances, finding ways to view from around a corner, to catch the shadows. To shift the dancers into duets with the architecture through my point of view. The motionless form of a dancer in semi dark, the shadow of another moving almost frantically through the archway behind her, this is the image I dwell on longest.

When discovered the dancers move cleanly and gracefully. They stack into tableaux, trace the edges of the silos with their hands or jog-trot the circumferences. They shift into the centre of the circular stages and dance phrases with black clad bodies and expressionless faces. At one point they laugh, forced, incongruous in the atmosphere they have created. I am reminded of the Joker, of lost hope and think that the choreography, which started with absurdities such as feet sticking out of a barrel, has certainly abandoned its sense of humour now.

They add percussion, beating on a blue plastic drum. They raise their voices as they jog from circle to circle, feet out of rhythm and all of this lying across and sometimes drowning out Reuben Alderson’s heavily atmospheric soundscape. The visceral possibilities of using voice to drive movement are touched on, but devolve to sharp shushes and awkwardly cutting limbs.

Site-specific work is hard. Particularly if you cannot rehearse and create within the space for an extended period of time. Seeing Sound has a solid structure but seems to be skimming the edges of what it could be. There is an emptiness at the heart of this work that, along with the physical explorations it touches on, could unfold into something richly textured and evocative. I could also wish for the performers, although capable and collaborative, to work towards greater engagement with the audience.

Like the first image I was presented with, a lone leg sliding from behind a wall, Seeing Sound is a piece which presents enticing possibilities and leaves me hoping for more.

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