Sometimes, watching dance is a bit like having a massage. You can sit back, let the music and movement wash over you and relax as the tensions of the day drift away.

What French-Albanian choreographer Angelin Preljocaj offered was more of a sensual rub-down with this latest work.

Set to a soundtrack by French dance duo Air, the piece was sexually striking from the start.

A male dancer perched provocatively on top of what looked like a lifeguard's chair. To the orgasmic soundtrack of female moans, he slid off his seat and weaved his limbs in and out of the rungs, before resting in post-coital bliss.

A mesmerising and heart-warming sequence saw the dancers tumbling and swirling around each other with exquisite timing and perfection. Caressing, stroking and embracing each other, the ensemble created a vision of loving tenderness which was ecstatic to watch.

Another magical highlight saw two of the most petite dancers flying, leaping and spiralling through the air (with the aid of male partners) landing gently on glass bubbles.

Although Near Life Experience was rich with beauty, vision and athletic precision, there were also moments which verged on the pretentious.

Red balls of string had been used throughout the work, most effectively when all eight dancers created a giant cat's cradle, tying each other up, reeling each other in, then spinning free.

This was clever and visually hypnotic but at the grand finale, a giant ball of red string was rolled on and out climbed a naked man, covered in foam! You could here facial muscles clench as people tried to stifle their giggles.

Another scene, involving a pair of dancers with wine glasses stuck to their bodies stood out as gimmicky.

The concept of fragility and the skill needed to intertwine their limbs, causing only the faintest of clinks, was impressive but would have been better suited to a cabaret act than contemporary dance.

While Preljocaj is a visionary choreographer, with the boldness to push dance to new, interesting and erotic places, Near Life Experience was a little overloaded with ideas and could have been more powerful if simplified to its most striking elements.

Sponsored by the University of Brighton.