The Moscow Ballet - La Classique features dancers from the Bolshoi, Kirov and other former Soviet theatres, and is steeped in the Imperial Russian tradition. Its Giselle was, unsurprisingly, a game of two halves: act one was almost set in aspic, mannered and heavy on mime, while the second half, set by a spooky moonlit lake, offered a phalanx of ethereal jilted maidens, weaving their deadly patterns, drifting softly like lilies on water.
The mime comes thick and fast at first, as Albrecht's squire warns him not to trifle with the peasant girl's affections. The duke's Rhineland castle high on the backdrop reminds us that he is playing at being a yokel. Igor Stetsiur-Mova, though, gives us a less than dashing duke. Perhaps the years are taking their toll on his technical artistry: his solos are initially strained and wooden, gradually improving when hounded by the Wilis.
The act one choreography has been revised by former Bolshoi principal Mikail Lavrovsky, son of Leonid, who adapted the production in 1944. He has added some jolly dances for the villagers, a spirited romp for three trios and a bravura pas de deux, here tackled by the diminutive Albina Dmitrieva and towering Vladislav Ivanov.
While Stetsiur-Mova lacked drama, Evguenia Novikova was a hugely expressive Giselle, transcending the moving-wallpaper feel of this version to give us a credible girl in love and cruelly duped. She was impressive in the mad scene, losing her reason and staring blankly, reliving her precious moments while absently plucking petals from an invisible daisy. She flitted through her allegro passages and captured the tragic beauty of the graveside choreography, her style deliberate and light, with eloquent, floating arms.
With its wheeling, vengeful wraiths led by an icily imperious Myrtha from Irina Charykova, the white ballet was a purist's treat, faithful to the classical Russian tradition. Although danced to tapes and simply staged, this Giselle has its own dated charm.
· At the Dacorum Pavilion, Hemel Hempstead (01442 228700), tonight, then touring.
