The undeniable brilliance of Wayne McGregor’s Random Dance company swept through the Byham Theater on Saturday night, providing a stunning and provocative experience. Random Dance was formed 14 years ago, and recently became resident company at Sadler’s Wells, England’s leading dance house. McGregor also has been commissioned for ballets by leading opera houses, and was choreographer for the film “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” Two of the 36-year-old Scotsman’s pieces were offered, both showcasing the impressive troupe of dancers. The program credits the founder and artistic dancer for concept and direction, but choreography pointedly is attributed to “Wayne McGregor in collaboration with the dancers.” The first and longer work Saturday was “AtaXia,” a study in loss of control named for the physical condition. Performed to high-pressure techno-minimalist music, “AtaXia” features a vocabulary inspired by irregular movement and position of not only arms and legs but also shoulders and head. The musicality of the choreography created an unusual effect, quite different from encountering a person with ataxia. Unison movements in time with the music made the dancers seem robotic, an impression also created by partnering — even in slightly longer combative and erotic form than most of the encounters — that was impersonal. When individual dancers paused, and attention shifted elsewhere, they seemed merely turned off for a while before they switched on again. Loudness and speed were the overwhelming qualities of the music by Michael Gordon, called “Trance,” and performed by Icebreaker. It uses static repeated passages, but actually has considerable variety as well. Passages of varying riffs with subdivisions in twos and threes moved even more quickly than the rapid bass line, supplemented by bursts of color. The pace and volume also eased about two-thirds through “Trance,” before returning to the “in your face” posture. The tremors of ataxia become a more prominent part of the choreography as the music resumed its pace and volume, and “AtaXia” built to a shattered conclusion. McGregor worked with a wider range of music in “Polar Sequences,” performed after intermission. These pieces originally were performed as the finale to a full-length, three-choreographer collaboration. His exploration of polarities wasn’t limited to the geographic and magnetic. The opening number to music by English Baroque composer Henry Purcell was an unexceptional dance setting with a true aural context including harpsichord provided by the music track called “Sound collage engineered by Scanner.” The final piece of “Polar Sequences” was a striking expression of fury to a song by Marilyn Manson — a polar opposite to the restrained world and beauty of the opening. The music was at its loudest of the evening for the end of “Polar Sequences,” but although ear plugs were available I didn’t think they were needed. The two pieces performed were a small but celebrated part of McGregor’s creative output. They made it easy to see why he’s received numerous honors and commissions. Yet despite McGregor’s undeniable intelligence and inventiveness, and the terrific skill and energy of the dancers, I left the theater missing the humanity of dance.

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