Dance / Humans 2.0, Circa. At The Playhouse until May 4. Reviewed by SAMARA PURNELL.

In stealth mode, 10 performers had made their way on to the stage and were suddenly revealed in a flash of light, audibly surprising the audience.

For the next hour-and-a-bit, the audience sat, captivated, swaying between mesmerised and wanting to applaud every trick, every gasp-inducing feat that is Humans 2.0 as it unfolded before them.

Clad in black, fine-mesh tops and unitards and an earthy palette of burnt orange, soft ochres, yellows and greys and with a distinct lighting design by Paul Jackson, the performers from the Brisbane-based company Circa enthralled, in a hybrid of contemporary dance and acrobatics.

Radiating from the centrepoint, the ensemble made sweeping circles traveling at speed, appearing weightless as human towers with a performer balanced perfectly on the shoulders of another. Set to a soundtrack of strings composed by Ori Lichtik, the effect was effortlessly cool.

Equality at its most stark was on display, with the females sharing the brunt of lifts and demonstrations of strength with the males. Some looked easier than others, with the effort of a couple of the male-on-male manoeuvres evident. Rhiannon Cave Walker was atop of towers three-people high. Or casually thrown across the stage to land on her hands above the head of another.

In an almost sickening display of abdominal fortitude that surely carries a huge risk of injury, the performers jumped on to each others’ stomachs and backs, before a male performer was lifted on the hips of a female who pushed up into a backbend, the precision and daring of which incited animated discussions in the foyer post-show.

Humans 2.0 is, at its core, playful. This was especially evident in a segment with red lighting and a pinball-bouncing soundtrack. The choreography was lighthearted, with performers executing boings and bounces with their hips, arms, legs and still balancing on shoulders, while making thrusts and jerking movements.

A trapeze and silks were the only pieces of equipment used. Asha Colless performed rolls and drops on the silks, before an impressive balancing act in the splits, metres in the air.

Watching bodies gliding through and hovering in space, as if defying gravity, then gracefully leap from one to another before an ensemble piece to violin music, centered around the trapeze bar, became strangely relaxing.

Bodies went from speed to absolute stillness, from momentum to motionless in a split second. From hurling themselves into a pile of people to slow-motion or a frozen tableau.

An impressive mass of tumbling, leaping and some eye-wateringly fast backflips and sweeping throws led into the final towering moments, before a controlled, slow-motion crumble became the final freeze-frame of the show.

Humans 2.0 gives rise to marvel at the stamina, focus, strength and timing required by these performers for the entire duration of a show, as one glitch on almost any routine could have life-threatening consequences.

It brings up the questions “How do bodies balance each other? Hold each other? Use and manipulate each other? What are the limits to human bodies, or are there even limits?” This creation by Yaron Lifschitz asks what is possible and demonstrates some of the beauty and talent discovered thus far.

Humans 2.0 is being performed at The Playhouse as part of Dance Week.