Ballet Nights @ Theatre Royal, Glasgow

Ballet Nights opens with house pianist Viktor Erik Emanuel playing Chopin's Ballade No. 1 In G Minor under cold stage lights, before compere Jamiel Devernay-Laurence takes to the stage. There follows an eclectic mix of performances, very much departing from Chopin. Constance Devernay-Laurence dances solo to the melancholic psychedelia of I Married Myself by Sparks, while duo Blacbrik give a performance with warmth and humour set to the bluesy sounds of Sam Cooke and James Brown in 'Death of the Bachelors'. In the show's strangest but most memorable piece, 'Infant Spirit', Andrew Cummings dances a homage to Pina Bausch to the gorgeous strains of ANOHNI.

Ballet Nights is accessible to those without prior knowledge of contemporary ballet – the compere gives context to all the pieces. The musical choices are exciting and the sheer variety of performance means something is sure to beguile. Particularly impressive is 'Divided', danced by the graduating year of Royal Conservatoire of Scotland's BA in Modern Ballet (pictured below).

Dancers are dressed uniformly in sci-fi grey and red, entering the stage to abrasive, ominous music. It's thrilling to watch as the universe of the piece expands – 'On the Nature of Daylight', danced to Max Richter by Joan Ivars Ribes and Sophie Martin, is another stand-out. Ribes is particularly mesmerising to watch, his facial expression a natural extension of his body's movement to an extent I've rarely seen.

Whilst the number of performances helps Ballet Nights work as a showcase, it also makes it harder to maintain a strong connection with the show throughout the whole evening. The second half's opener – 'Czárdás', by the charismatic Steven McCrae – is cheeky and fun, and 'Infant Spirit' is another exception, but by and large dancers after the interval have a harder job holding interest. That said, the main feeling you're left with after Ballet Nights is a hunger for more.