The first piece was scenes de ballet. The costumes were colourful and the dancing incredibly precise. The high lift with Claire Roberston attracted the applause of the audience. I also found this piece quite playful. The complicated patterns and interplay within the corps de ballet seemed to be having a bit of fun with the normal style of ballet. As I have come to expect the performances from all the dancers were first rate.
The second piece Worekwithinwork was much more stripped down with a plain black stage and quite minimalist costumes with shorts and spangly tops in different colours. The steps were complicated and energetic and served to highlight the skills of the dancers. It was good to see Eve Mutso and Diana Loosemore back on stage in this piece. This dance was great to watch but lacked the warmth of the first piece.
The final piece was the new Petrushka. The curtain opened to a russian street scene with flats in the background, smoke billowing from factories and a container larry parked in the square. A black market in electrical goods, street theatre and a spot of breakdancing were all portrayed before the lorry opened up to reveal a stage and the showgirl, strongman and Petrushka. All the main parts were convincingly portrayed but Daniel Davidson was magnificent as Petrushka. Vulnerable, slightly mad and almost childlike his Petrushka attracted your sympathy. There were some great touches in this ballet but some aspects didn't work for me. The throwing of the boxes went on too long and the street scene before the finale was delightful but took all the tension out the main plot.
The thing that made me a supporter of Scottish Ballet was the commitment and talent shown in different types of dance. That was very much in evidence here.
We had some great reviews in The Herald: http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts-ents/stage-visual-arts/scottish-ballet-playhouse-theatre-1.918030 and The Edinburgh Guide: http://www.edinburghguide.com/festival/2009/edinburghinternationalfestival/scottishballet-4259
