Sarah Wildor adds class to Scottish Ballet's new production of The Two Pigeons. Dressed in ingenue white taffeta she preens and coos like the lovey-dovey bird she imitates, instinctively injecting a funny-girl personality right through. Having recently resigned from the Royal Ballet, she is now, like her ex-Royal Ballet husband Adam Cooper, embarking on a freelance career.
The Two Pigeons is a Frederick Ashton creation from the 1960s, a ballet novella set in belle époque Paris. It opens in the artist's garret - high window, balcony, wooden interior. The artist is having a trying time. His sitter/girlfriend is fiddling and teasing. She won't sit still. The original role was made for Lynn Seymour, a dancer of unique, passionate character; Wildor wears it with ease. Like the real doves that share the stage (and behave impeccably), she combines strength with a soft grace, never missing a beat. Her partner, soloist Ivan Dinev, holds up well as the artist against such confident, cut-glass technique.
Her presence falls away as Gypsies enter the attic with a flourish of skirts and swagger. Lorna Scott as the dark-haired temptress takes centre stage. Luring the artist away from his true love, she is supple and quick, but lacks the smouldering-eye factor. At the Gypsy camp in act two her seduction continues against a round of jolly Hungarian tambourine dances. Written over 100 years ago, the melodic score by French composer André Messager gets shoulders shimmying.
Of course it all ends in tears. The Gypsies turn on the artist and beat him up. So it's back to the garret for a short, but extremely sweet pas de deux that brings Wildor and the true doves back on stage. A charming story.
Bach Dances, a recent piece by outgoing artist director of Scottish Ballet, Robert North, gave the evening an airy start. Dancers in sky colours float on and off stage. Bach himself in wig and waistcoat conducts the proceedings against giant cubes painted with clouds. A pretty, unmemorable piece.
· At the Festival Theatre (0131-529 6000) until tomorrow, then tours to Aberdeen, Glasgow and Inverness.
