THE RAW energy of rock music fuses with gravity-defying dance moves in Glasgow-based Gilmore Productions' latest show, The Blank Album, which comes to The Old Town Hall in Hemel Hempstead this month.

Artistic director Natasha Gilmore is choreographing the piece, which she tells me is made up of a series of dance “singles” showcasing different members of the group.

Natasha says: “It started out with an idea about how an album is structured, but it became more like the story of a band going on tour and the relationships between people on and off stage.”

For The Blank Album’s sound, Natasha enlisted composer Quee McArthur of Scottish roots/dance vibe band Shooglenifty. Quee’s original soundtrack ranges from ska through to pop, to sizzling rock and folksy tunes. Performing live on guitars, fiddle, cello, percussion and voice, the dancers stretch the boundaries of movement and sound.

“There’s a duet on stage where one of the actors stands on her head and sings, and the words relate to the story of her relationship with the man. It’s not a rock opera, but you get a flavour of how she feels through the quality of song and the strain put on the vocal chords by singing upside down; you can tell there’s an edginess about their relationship.”

Laced with references to popular culture, The Blank Album is designed to appeal to both a teenage and adult audience.

It’s certainly an action-packed show as a cello flies around the stage and the band gets sets for an air guitar extravaganza.

So is it dance or a rock show ?

“We’re a dance company who are also musicians.

“When we tour, we do it like a band in a splitter van with all of us up front and all the equipment in the back, which helps the performance to look lived in.”

So are the characters based on real musicians?

“We took some inspiration from Tina Turner and Mick Jagger strutting around, but the characters in the show are all quite distinct.

“We looked at what they’re in the music business for right from the music nerd through to someone who just wants to be famous.”

The Blank Album plays The Old Town Hall, Hemel Hempstead on Tuesday, March 17 at 8pm. Tickets: 01442 228091, www.oldtownhall.co.uk