Scottish Ballet has suffered through having a confusing variety of directors and styles during its short history. But as Ashley Page leads it into its 40th year, the company seems unusually confident of its identity. There have been times in recent seasons when its independently minded mix of new and classic repertory has outshone that of grander rivals. So it's a shame that for this birthday programme the formula doesn't quite work.
In true 40th anniversary spirit the company is reviving Balanchine's Rubies. This is one of the repertory's most exuberant party pieces, allowing dancers to switch on their biggest smiles. Along with the choreography's jazzy strut, however, it requires a highly sophisticated classical technique, and this is beyond many of the cast. As lead ballerina, Sophie Martin has exceptional attack, but she dances with a relentless bounce that's symptomatic of the rest. In a great performance of Rubies you see mystery among the sparkles – but not here.
The company are better suited to the other two ballets of the evening. William Forsythe's Workwithinwork is a fractured, elegiac piece. Duets appear and disappear like traces of older ballets, classical moves forget themselves in teetering imbalances and febrile bursts of energy. Sometimes, all 16 dancers haunt the back of the stage like spirits from the past. The choreography evokes a ghostly beauty, although at times it feels weakened by the winding, atonal melodies of Berio's Duetti.
There's a drastic change of key with Krzysztof Pastor's In Light and Shadow. Set to music by Bach, its choreography appears heavily influenced by Paul Taylor – layering high animal spirits with allusions to courtly baroque. It's so easy on the eye that it's in danger of leaving no impression. But the company dance superbly, and the audience love them for it.
