The five members of Pack bound onto stage dressed vaguely like a 90s boy band at dance rehearsal. They pair off, cycling through greetings, handshakes and hugs, immediately exuding a playfulness; there is a palpable sense of synergy between the group. What’s more, Pack has a superb sense of humour. For a brief interlude, the dancing stops, and the audience is brought into the Pack: 'if you want to belong to us,’ they inform the crowd, ‘you have to have a six pack.’ A bit exclusionary, but fair enough. ‘If you want to belong to us, you don’t call it breakdance.’ No alternative is suggested: is b-boying the preferred term? Finally, they stipulate: ‘if you want to belong you’re not allowed to touch each other.’

Here marks the turning point of the piece. The bonds of affection between the group shatter; no longer do they glide across the stage together. Pack (with all that word’s connotations of a predatory, animalistic group) becomes aggressive. Throughout choreographers Maria Chiara de’ Nobili and Alexander Miller adeptly dramatise the tension between a desire for connection and the constraints of toxic masculinity. The final result is an exuberant hour of dance.

Pack, Assembly @ Dance Base, until 25 August, 2.40pm; main picture: Casten Beier.