Swansea's Ballet Russe, presented by the Bermuda Civic Ballet on Friday and Saturday, was a more diverse event than I had expected.

Although mostly traditional ballet, there were comedic pieces and one sideline into jazz. The young ballet company, consisting of professional dancers trained in the foremost Russian Academies, first arrived in the UK in 1998 as opportunities in their homeland became increasingly uncertain. They have been based in the Swansea, at the Grand Theatre since 1999.

ACT 1, "Les Sylphides" was a stripped-down affair, with simple black curtain backdrop, white costumes, and warm lighting, the beautiful music by Chopin, although completely audible, down low enough to hear the squeak of each pirouette, the soft thud at the end of each jump. This working of the machine added to the pleasure of the experience for me.

The effective simplicity also allowed one to concentrate on the impressive dancing of the visitors whilst serving to magnify the understandable divide in technical ability and stage presence between the Ballet Russe and the members of the local corp.

It must be a wonderful opportunity for young developing dancers to work with professionals at the height of their careers, to see the possibilities. Although mostly in poses in the background the Local Corps were technically somewhat convincing when the ensemble danced near the end of the piece. It was also nice to see Sophia Connonier on stage again.

Act 2 began with "Witch", a comedic and whimsical dance performed by Yuri Demakov. With a bottle-green wash on the black curtain, suggesting a forest perhaps, and a broom prop, the elastic-faced dancer engaged and titillated the audience.

A red strobe light special on the performer as he ran in place with the broom between his legs, cleverly parodied the flight of the Wicked Witch of the West and was met with applause both times it was employed. "Smooth Fun", choreographed by Coral Waddell, followed, beginning dramatically with two male dancers in silhouette in front of a cool blue scrim.

Jalani Veney and James Waddell practically oozed budding potential and seemed to enjoy themselves as they presented this jazz styled piece. Jalani's toe touches were amazing. They were quite high and he seemed suspended for a second before touching down to noiseless landings.

A pas de deux followed with Victor Pivovarov and Evgenia Enikeeva. I believe this performance was a substitute for "La Fille Mal Gardee", as announced in the beginning of the evening but I failed to catch the name.

The dancers were costumed in peasant style garb with green and red lighting the black curtain. A tambourine with red and green ribbon exchanged by the dancers before their solo portions added a folk flare with the extra percussive element, punctuating the pirouettes and other movements. Light and flirtatious, it was a fitting end to the second act.

Act 3 allowed the members of the visiting company to display their considerable skill beginning with Viktor Pivovarov in an energetic (albeit too short for me) performance, "Corsaire ? Male Variation".

"The Young Girl and the Hooligan" with Yuri Demakov and Evgenia Enikeeva followed. Yuri's offbeat humour as the rambunctious and smitten hooligan provided a lovely contrast to Evgenia's coquettish young girl. Despite the pervading comedy it was technically well performed, deceptively so by Yuri who appeared gangly for the character and then performed outstanding leaps and kicks. The lifts were effortless and somewhat complicated but always there was the sweet depiction of a fleeting, innocent encounter in the park.

The elegant Chika Temma and Zhanat Atymtaev finished off the evening with "Diana and Acteon". Although technically perfect I did not find the solos as athletically impressive as performances I have seen by American companies. I suspect this is simply a matter of different styles. It is also possible that the size of the stage did not allow the potential full momentum to be realised. It was riveting nonetheless.

More than just an enjoyable, well-paced night at the ballet, the Bermuda Civic Ballet provided young Bermudian performers with the enviable and invaluable opportunity of sharing a stage and rehearsal experience with professionals, a winning event for dancers and audience alike.