Ballet Central’s performance at the Brewhouse was electrifying!

With enough energy to power Taunton, they lit up the stage with confident interpretations from the opening work weaving Scottish dances and classical ballet with humorous portrayals of drunken behaviour, through a jazzy and sexy store mannequin piece set to the Follies Overture and showcasing elements of genres such as the Charleston and precision dance (Tiller style), to the break dancing techniques in Scorpiones depicting menacing yet comedic street confrontations (and with gravity-defying angular poses).

Contemporary works were balanced by more classical pieces such as the emotive Five Lullabies and Waltz from Façade, all with perfect lines and head placements, whilst the imaginative finale (a complete Cluedo game) embodied true performance.

Perfect costumes and stark stage sets focused attention on the dancers - all final year degree students.

Some occasional synchronisation problems slipped in but within the context of dancers not yet making a living as professional performers, these were minor.

One dancer to look out for is Hirofumi Kitazume, a young man whose quality of ballon (ability to hover in the air in leaps) was like a floating feather. However all were superb and deserve to be in gainful employment.

Verve and variety, captivating choreography, exceptional entertainment. But where was the audience? Young students of dance would surely have been inspired by Ballet Central, and even if you don’t like ballet you could not have failed to appreciate the talent of these young performers.