The first night of Artists of the Royal Ballet, a gala of dance was to a full house at Ruth Seaton James Centre.

Devised by Andrew Ward, Vanessa Fenton and Wayne Sleep the evening's entertainment was surprisingly and refreshingly diverse and engaging. By performing short portions of classic and traditional ballet and showing full modern works, with sprinkles of slapstick and humour here and there, the troupe was able to keep the audience totally engrossed and obviously delighted.

Wayne Sleep introduced the performances by name and filled the audience in on the inspiration of the new pieces. This made the expertly performed evening even more interesting to me and served to assist in translating the language of movement.

After, "Ready Steady Dance", the short opening dance utilising all of the dancers was an exquisite Pas de deux from the "Two Pigeons". The delicate execution of the male and female dancers' mirroring each other's movement made this piece especially memorable.

Popular Song from "Fa?ade", featuring two male dancers was in direct contrast to the "Two Pigeons".

Whimsical and almost Vaudevillian in tone, it had the audience in stitches. "Frozen", premiered in Bermuda, choreographed by Vanessa Fenton was my favourite dance. This gorgeous haunting piece, performed by seven dancers to music by Henry Purcell, explored the themes of cold in terms of both the physical and emotional.

Fully incorporating traditional ballet moves, it also broke convention and ventured into modern, featuring some unusual and inventive lifts. Much of the movement occurred with dancers in sitting and supine positions, with the impressive and versatile Martin Harvey repeating the act of using his hands to drag his lower body across the stage.

At times the dancers created the illusion of fun and frolic in the snow and at others there was the suggestion of suffering, pain and bleakness, even impending death. The dancers alternated between laboured and fluid movement, rigidity and sustained rhythm.

There were also excerpts from "The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker", as well as other appealing creations by Vanessa Fenton and Wayne Sleep.

Audience favourites were "The Hot Tap", choreographed by Wayne Sleep, who also performed it with Victoria Hewitt and a Pas de deux from "Flames of Paris".

The former, a tap dance to the music of Duke Ellington, was dynamic, spirited and humorous. There was cheering throughout and following this number with thunderous applause.

The Pas de deux, performed by Marianela Nunez and Martin Harvey, is a very physical showpiece demonstrating both technique and athleticism. Flawlessly performed by the couple, it also received loud cheers and appreciative applause.

At the beginning of the evening Mr. Sleep informed us that the company had not visited Bermuda since 1969. It would be wonderful to see them here again, very soon.

Allen Smith