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The show began with a male figure leaping and gesturing to the audience in silhouette. Behind the corps de ballet, dimly lit and dressed in black, clapped out a seductive latin beat. The gauze then disappeared and there was the company's biggest box off star - Teddy Kumakawa. The audience immediately showed their appreciation ... even perhaps went a little wild. Choreographer Haruka Ueda combined the essence of both classical and contemporary ballet with the passionate energy of flamenco which, with the help of Bizet's very grand 'L' Arlesienne suite No.2, was an energetic opener, giving Kumakawa the vehicle he needs to demonstrate his unbelievable technique; his leaps and turns just keep getting higher and faster, and at home in Tokyo he wasn't going to give anything other than his best.

Straight on then into William Tuckett's 'Pieces of Eight', a much lighter piece set to a jaunty score by Simon Jeffes. Danced with a beautifully free and relaxed technique by Matthew Dibble, a wonderful dancer finally being given the attention that his talent deserves, with perfectly judged support from Michael Nunn and William Trevitt and a sweet, if rather tentative, first appearance from guest artist Anna Tetlow. The piece stands up very well choreographically, but was rather bland in terms of the lack of colour and texture in the lighting and costume design, a problem that occurred several times during the evening.

Then on to the main piece of the evening, a work especially commissioned for K Ballet from former Royal Ballet virtuoso-turned-choreographer Simon Rice. The programme claims that his ballet, 'The Vary People' set the music of Bach, was created to embody the ethos of the company, a mission to perform 'ballets which will inspire and entertain, which are creative and fun, which challenge and change our perceptions of ballet.' I'm not quite sure about changing the perceptions of ballet, but the composition was a brilliantly entertaining and inspired show piece for the individual talents of the company's 6 male stars. The piece begins with Gary Avis and Stuart Cassidy bursting out of a giant wardrobe dressed in Elizabethan ruffs and assaulting each other with dainty, but deadly, handkerchiefs as they flew through an attention seeking pas de deux, their personality and performance firmly hitting the back wall of the auditorium. Then on to a trio between Kumakawa, Nunn and Trevitt, leaping around the stage in gazelle-like harmony dressed as dashing World War 1 pilots. The pace then slowed as Avis, Dibble and Cassidy re-entered , again from the wardrobe, perfectly turned out as city gents, removing their bowler hats and placing their umbrellas on a hat stand before entering their perfectly ordered and unemotional daily routines, a hilariously funny and sadly realistic portrayal of the repetitiousness of the city rat-race. Then all six hit the stage at full tilt, sporting venician style masks, (again a bit minimal on the design front), each dancer making the most out of every splendidly individual choreographic morsel and yet totally working as one. This final section was, for me, the highlight of the evening, with every single dancer showing the sheer quality of his talent, the piece appearing to end, the audience cheering and the dancers re-launching themselves, each time faster and faster, all six performing as if their very lives depended on it. A real joy.

The second half began with two diverts, the first, 'Satanella', one of Petipa's finest, a chance for Stuart Cassidy and former ENB ballerina Belinda Hernandez to show the quality of their classical pas de deux training. They worked beautifully together, striking exactly the right balance between consideration for their partner and attention to their individual performance, Cassidy strong and noble and Hernandez with beautiful lines and a relaxed and fluid style, the audience loving every minute of it.

A brief pause, and then the curtains fly back to reveal a grand piano with Gary Avis, dressed as a concert pianist, standing tall and statuesque and staring intently into space before launching full tilt into Matthew Hart's 'Cry Baby Kreisler', a wild and breathtaking pas de deux, full of innovation and daring, performed with considerable passion and energy by Avis and his partner, principal guest artist for this tour, Leanne Benjamin. Avis has always been a good actor and partner, but his physique and sheer dancing power has improved beyond recognition, finally out of character shoes and making the most of every moment. Benjamin can really show other ballerinas a thing or two and proved herself to be truly world class as she moved effortlessly through some impossibly difficult bends, lifts and finishing positions. She really is a much more contemporary dancer than the Royal Ballet gives her credit for.

The final major new work is ‘Concerto in F’, Haruka Ueda's choreography set to Mozart. Apparently the piece was commissioned to demonstrate the serious intentions of this company to produce work for the world stage. Ueda has produced a good, if not exceptional piece, which at times is a little predictable but with some truly beautiful moments, a pas de six, some well considered solo opportunities, particularly for Kumakawa, Trevitt and Dibble and most particularly, and it is a long wait for them, this piece gives the Japanese corps de ballet a turn in the spotlight and what a corps de ballet they are, as individuals perhaps not of world class quality, the legs and feet being less than perfect, but en mass an amazingly disciplined and committed unit, every leg, arm and turn of the head in perfect harmony. I have never seen such a selfless display of teamwork before: corps de ballet dancers in the past have always seemed to me to be out to demonstrate their individual talents, I have always been understanding of their ambition, however, this always compromises the overall effect. Not so here. The pas de deux is another highlight of this ballet, wonderfully fluid and inventive choreography, Nunn is at his absolute best, anticipating Benjamin's every move perfectly, dancers and orchestra working together to produce a mood of great beauty and serenity.

Finally and after much applause Kumakawa returns to the stage and leads the boys in a re-choreographed version of the opening piece. A pure and unashamed crowd pleaser. The ovations the night I was there lasted 15 minutes.

All in all it seemed a very impressive start for what is an ambitious new company. The next step must surely be to commission more new works of equal or better quality and designers and technicians that work far harder to support the talents of its main strength, the dancers. My only other comment would be that we didn't see enough of Mr Kumakawa, well actually we saw quite a lot of Mr Kumakawa but simply not often enough!