At Sadler’s Wells, the English National Ballet has opened Body and Soul, Part 1, a new work by internationally acclaimed Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite, presented as part of a double bill of contemporary ballets.

The curtain rises on a darkened stage. In the centre lie a man and a woman beneath a single yellow overhead light. As they begin to move, a voice speaking in French fills the space. Their movements grow more urgent; the voice continues. At first, I wondered whether the French narration might be distracting, but as the piece unfolds it becomes part of the atmosphere  something you feel rather than follow.

More than 36 dancers, dressed in black and white, move in striking unison. One sequence, evoking waves rolling ashore across the entire stage, was particularly memorable. Pite describes the work as exploring conflict and connectedness through a series of duets between action and language. For me, it simply gave pleasure.