Having a ball with Cinderella

Inside Ashley Page's traditional-looking Cinderella is a pure-dance ballet trying to get out. The slightly saucy, family-friendly ballet sounds like Cinders and looks like Cinders, yet the choreography reminds you more of Page's abstract work than a dance-drama with narrative and emotion.

That may sound like a negative, and in some ways it is because Cinderella is both love story and fairy tale, and you don't always feel its drama is fully rounded or, indeed, makes sense.

However, it's not all bad because Page's best pure-dance work is stunning stuff, and there are passages in his new Cinderella that are lush and evocative.

The ballet starts with action that's both slight and busy at the same time - the scene when the Stepmother (a foxy Eve Mutso) arrives is just faffing around. The Stepsisters (Patricia Hines and Diana Loosmore) are more nitwits than nasties (and don't deserve their grisly fate), while Jarkko Lehmus's Father makes little impression.

Things improve in Act II when the action clears and the dancing gears up. The choreography for the Stepmother is slinkily done and the moves for Cinders (a neat Claire Robertson) and the Prince (Erik Cavallari) are intricate, detailed work.

Page's choreography is all in the toes. Instead of representing female fragility, he uses the pointe shoe as both a leading edge and lethal weapon. He also sets his dancers not on the tip of the shoe, but just on the side of the big toe, which gives their kicks and lunges a dramatic, vertiginous tinge.

This works well with the Stepmother and Stepsisters, although it gives Cinders a stroppier attitude than we associate with the fairy-tale heroine.

Other moans include panto-tastic sets and costumes and pea-soup lighting. In Act II, the murky lumens combined with black drapes, floor and costumes make the dancers almost disappear.

What you can't fault is the way Page has transformed Scottish Ballet. Since becoming director in 2002, he's upped the standard, with the women now looking especially strong. This bodes well for Thursday's mixed bill, which includes testing choreography by George Balanchine and William Forsythe.

Cinderella tonight, plus 17 and 18 March. Mixed bill 16 March. Information: 0870 737 7737.

Scottish Ballet: Cinderella