A night out watching contemporary dance is guaranteed to prompt animated discussion, if nothing else.

Rambert were in town, and a dancer friend of mine with fond memories of seeing Rooster about 20 years ago was dying to see it again. She, along with her husband (who has become an intermediate in term of dance knowledge through a combination of watching Ballet Rocks on TV and of being around her for long enough) and me (a total newbie to contemporary dance) went along.

The first piece was The Strange Charm of Mother Nature. I was thankful for prior knowledge that the choreography was inspired by the big bang and the mysteries of the cosmos, including gamma rays, which are the brightest, largest and most colourful explosions in space. I could not fail to be impressed: the power, poise, playfulness and quickening momentum of the dancers was palpable. When the dancers split off into pairs to balance, writhe and circle around one another in what I believe was a section devoted to neutron stars circling one another there were some staggeringly acrobatic, graceful and sensual moments.

This was contrasted against sections of lightning-speed movements performed with razor-sharp precision as the crescendo built to interstellar eruptions.

The first interval gave us chance to share our views. I had been agog in rapt wonder for segments but had found my attention wandering during what I found to be some repetitive sections of the 20-minute-or-so piece (my dancer friend pointed out that these sequences which repeat are known as motifs). Without prior knowledge that the dance was inspired by the big bang, she hadn’t realised this until I pointed it out in the programme afterwards.

Her husband had gleaned this, but found this dance had not made a particular impact on him. We were all in unanimous agreement however that the bejewelled, skintight costumes emphasised every curve, angle, sinew, nook and cranny of the human physique and it had never looked so good.

Dutiful Ducks was the second piece, a solo performance which was my favourite of the night. It was just a few minutes’ long and, to my untrained eye, appeared pleasingly smooth, rhythmic and flowing, in the sense that movements seemed to be taken right through to their natural conclusion.

Sounddance was a bit of a trial for me if I’m honest. The soundtrack is akin to white noise and I think about seven people left the auditorium during what I would guess was about 20 minutes of it. While I found it tedious in the extreme, my dancer friend pointed out that when it was created in 1975 it would have been shocking and exciting, and it transpired that this was her husband’s favourite piece of the whole night. ‘It was an assault on the senses, it was visceral,’ he said.

Rooster was the centrepiece of the programme, and was also the most accessible of the night to a newcomer such as I, set to the superb and familiar music of the Rolling Stones.

A female solo dance to Ruby Tuesday was particularly beautiful, a highlight we all agreed on.

In turn there were deliciously exaggerated and comic movements; there was slinky, lazy funkiness; there was feminine fluidity, exuberance, high drama…I was exhausted. I was thrilled.

So much to take in…contemporary dance is pretty intense! If you’re up for that, you’ll be up for this.

Rambert perform Rooster, The Strange Charm of Mother Nature, Sounddance and Dutiful Ducks at Canterbury’s Marlowe Theatre until Friday, October 10 at 7.30pm. Tickets cost from £9.50. Visit www.marlowetheatre.com or call 01227 787787.