THE umbrella title of Darshan Singh Bhuller’s third mixed bill as artistic director of Phoenix Dance Company, Inter Vivos, translates from the Latin as “between lives”. In part this refers to Bhuller’s regard for his mentor, Robert Cohan.

Four decades ago the American-born choreographer, 80 this year, became one of the chief architects of British modern dance as co-founder of London Contemporary Dance School and Theatre and its adjacent venue, The Place.

Bhuller graduated from the school into the LCDT company, where he remained for 15 years until its 1994 closure. During that period he danced many times in Cohan’s 1977 Forest, a revival of which forms the centrepiece of Phoenix’s current touring programme.

Forest casts a sylvan spell from the start as nine dancers in multicoloured leotards twirl softly onstage to the sound of a rushing wind. Occasionally hands are cupped to faces, subtle actions paralleled by the birdcalls in Brian Hodgson’s score. For the next 30 minutes dancers spill on and off the bare stage, moving with a stretchy yet exacting spring.

Bhuller is right when he speaks of how exposing a piece Forest is. The pockets of calm in Cohan’s choreography demand discipline. Phoenix is more than up to the task. The dancers negotiate Cohan’s meditative yet robustly alert movement with aplomb.

Yann Seabra and Tiia Ourila are outstanding in the solo and duet that comprise the heart of Forest. Small and compact, Seabra exudes a vibrant sobriety whether balanced on one leg while raising and lowering an arm or smoothly sliding backwards on his stomach. Ourila joins him, at first standing behind and gently manipulating his limbs. The pair’s stylised yet unaffected partnering carries a quiet magnificence, waxing more complex without sacrificing its basic tranquility.

Forest seems very much of its time, which is not to say that it feels dated. Bhuller prefaces it with a refreshing and timely new work of his own. Eng-er-land is a satire on the beastly binge tendencies of Britain’s urban jungle. Street-smart dancing is sandwiched between two transparent screens upon which the digital media specialists KMA work wonders, buoyed by music from DJ Blessed.

The evening ends less satisfyingly with Didy Veldman’s semi-aquatic abstraction See Blue Through. Set to Alfred Schnittke’s tortured Sonata for Violin and Chamber Orchestra, it mingles fast and challenging dance with some decidedly fishy gimmicks.

For tour details: www.phoenixdancetheatre.co.uk