Astana Ballet

[Quintus]

A packed and wildly varied programme at the Linbury last night from the Kazakh company.  There were four pieces, most of which broke down into a series of scenes that felt quite distinct - so  it felt like a long list of one act-ers and the audience was rather unclear at one point as to whether might have finished (it hadn't..).  The first piece was to Edith Piaf music, neoclassical in style, the second was an extended Salomé that was very dramatic but perhaps needed a somewhat larger stage, then came a series of traditional Kazakh folk-oriented pieces. That was very impressive from a costume and spectacle perspective (my wife loved this section) but felt a bit Soviet-era folklorski spektakl to me. The final piece was based around the tango, but on pointe.  Overall, an energetic and athletic, almost gymnastic  young company that gave a hugely entertaining evening - not always tightly controlled, but no moments of longueur.  I was pleased for them that it was very well received by what appeared to be a full house.