Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, at Sadler's Wells, Seven magazine review The evening began dispritingly with Sombrisa, another slice of artily lit square-bashing from Itzik Galili. The ensemble is dressed with exemplary Cuban thrift in black shorts, dress shirts, bow ties and black leather boxing-gloves, which made it all very suggestive of a staff punch-up after an unusually fraught municipal banquet. Those who could, performed handsprings, others jogged lightly on their toes making feints with their gloved fists and lashing out with the occasional capoeira kick. These physical jerks were underpinned by the relentless loop of Steve Reich's Drumming Part 1, whose Afro-inflected bongos served as a click-track for the group callisthenics. Sombrisa was not Galili's best but I grew fonder of it as the miserable evening wore on. Carmen?! by Kenneth Kvarnström is a slice of whimsy featuring seven men posing and gesturing to the Rodion Shchedrin reduction of Bizet. There is a stag-night feel to the proceedings - some vomiting, a little light sodomy during the Habanera - but although the dancers had a chance to show off their likeable personalities, the larky laddish doings had a very Eighties feel (a bit of a pity as it premiered in 1993). Even this was a masterpiece compared to Mambo 3XX1 by George Cespedes ("DCC's resident wonderkid" according to the programme note). Last seen when the company toured the UK in 2010, this dismal dance marathon features the full company in shorts, vests and non-marking soles. Side-bends and star-jumps are bashed out interminably before they discover the joys of free expression and duet derivatively in a range of coloured halter necks. The remixed mambo soundtrack barely masks the collective count under the breath. It is jaw-droppingly, heart-sinkingly banal and goes on for about a week. Once again, world-class lighting gives proceedings the spurious gloss of something stageworthy. The sheer stamina involved earned lusty applause, but I doubt there's a zumba class in the land that wouldn't get a standing ovation if lit to this standard. Danza Contemporanea de Cuba tour to June 9; www.danceconsortium.com