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As Cooper's first full-length dance drama, I think it reflects a lot about him and his influences, perhaps moreso than actually revealing his own voice.

The show opens with a slow courtly dance, that introduces the characters and their situations - why Marquise de Merteuil (Sarah Barron) sets upon to get her revenge. While visually stunning, the bumping and grinding introduced here was overdone, and too literal in my mind. We quickly understand what a 'monster' Merteuil is, and how Valmont (Cooper) figures into her plots and equations. After the beginning I was sick of the groping - the initial vulgarity of it became overly repetitive.

Helen Dixon was charming as the young and innocent Cecile. She is the only character to dance on pointe, and changes her body language from young, innocent, girl to an young girl in love and then to a young lover. The pas de deux set for her with her music teacher is beautiful, and makes great use of the revolving piano!

Cooper ends Act I with the rape of Cecile. He begins with the famous pictures of him in black leather (which I thought rather unneccessary), and enters his changing quarters to prepare for bed (leading to a changer-assisted stripfest which I also thought unneccessary). In long white 18th-century knickers, he pays a visit to Cecile, marking the beginning of a gripping pas de deux.

But it is within these pas de deux that you see where Cooper's influences are coming from. Parts of the scene with Cecile reminded me very clearly (as in, the reference immediately enterred my thoughts, without me pondering it over days later) of the scene from MacMillan's Mayerling, with Rudolf and Princess Stephanie. As Cooper climbs over Cecile's bed in his long white bottoms, I had images of Bourne's Swan Lake.

Sarah Wildor is stunning as Madame de Tourvel. She inflects her dancing with the most character development of all of the characters... but again the pas de deux here remind me of MacMillan. There is even a point where Valmont has Tourvel sit down on a chair upstage right and rushes down to downstage left and proclaims his love - and all I could think of was Des Grieux's first solo in Manon. Later, as Valmont ponders his love and grips his head, we re-enter Prince Rudolf's world.

This is not to say that the choreography is not interesting or that it is lifted from elsewhere - neither statement would be true! Nor does this mean that I did not enjoy the references which I saw, rather that I was also thinking of what inspired the choreography, and what choreographic and theatrical techniques Cooper was using to tell the story. I also may have spotted linkages where there may be none, although I believe it is the New York Times article in this week's links, as well as the interviews with Cooper and Brotherson previewing the show, do discuss the influence of MacMillan on Cooper.

What I feel was missing the most, however, was some of the characterisation. Cecile's character transforms a bit, but the change between her being scared of Valmont to the decision to be his lover and handing over her key happens in seconds with no clue given as to why or how. We see Tourvel give in to Valmont, tormented as she is, and her character here makes the most sense. She is pure, she gives in and gives her trust, and when that is broken, she herself is broken. But what about Merteuil? She's broken at the end, but why? She and Valmont are no longer lovers, and she's had lovers since him, but he still holds a place dear to her, and there's a reason why the reward of their independent conquests will be a night together... In the end, she loves him, and always has. But we never know this, for all we know her rage and sadness at the end could simply be because she's lost a friend or because her calculating ways have been found out.

While I didn't particularly like the bump-and-grind beginning, this show is really a visual treat and definitely deserves a visit, if not more! On the whole, I'm interested to see the directions in which choreography takes Adam Cooper, and curious to know how he views the balance in this work, between his influences and himself. I know that both are connected, and his influences are obviously carried and reflected in his own dancing and choreography, but for some reason, I have the feeling that this is a starting point, a glimpse of the growth that is to come.