THE AYR Gaiety Theatre was packed on Thursday May 11 as Ballet Central performed their showcase, writes Kirsty Fyfe.

Irvine boy Craig McFarlane took centre stage in many of the different snippets of dance.

The curtain drew up at 7.30 and the performers emerged to the strong sound of Prokofiev’s No 13 Dance of the Knights from the Romeo and Juliet Ballet.

Craig played Romeo and was joined by magnificent Amy McEntee as Juliet.

Often blocked by the Capulet court, the star crossed lovers barely touched until they steal away for a moment of privacy.

Romeo is supported by Mercutio and Benvolio - Álvaro Olmedo and Yusuke Kuroda - the pair provide much needed comic relief as they attempt to distract the court so Romeo can reach Juliet.

The red robes and masks worn throughout the Romeo and Juliet are abandoned during the second performance of the night, entitled “Sleepless”.

Dancers adorned joggy bottoms, skinny jeans and loose tops as they work through the gritty shadows of the night.

The piece is about graffiti and it’s emergence during the night, Ballet Central dancers formed a line as one spray painted letters and symbols on the back of them.

Before the curtain fell for intermission a 13 minute piece by Liam Scarlett called “Indigo Children”. Again, Amy McEntee stand out performance was the highlight.

Act two begins with “La Bayadére”. Described in the programme as, “taking place in the royal India of long ago, ‘bayadére’ is the French word for an Indian temple dancer.”

The essence of India was clearly received with the bright coloured outfits of the cast.

By far the strangest segment of the night was the showcase of “Mya”, using the music of Spiegel im Spiegel by Avro Pärt.

Three performers, Moeno Oba, Amy McEntee and Adam Davies take to the stage dressed in flexible fabric suits.

The three perform a beautiful and intricate performance, but I struggled to fully understand the story it was meant to be telling. .

This is NOT due to the dancers not showcasing enough, but rather my very limited understanding of the dance world. My three ballet classes as a seven year old, didn’t stick with me.

The last segment of Act Two, Dracula, opens with Matthew Morrell as Dracula and Álvaro Olmedo as Johnathan Harker, who is seduced by the vampire vixens in Dracula’s castle.

Olmedo stole the show as Harker, and that would be my highlight of the entire evening, just tipping McEntee and McFarlane’s Romeo and Juliet.

Lastly, audiences were treated to a 30 minute segment of Matthew Bourne’s Highland Fling.

James, a young Glaswegian has his heart stolen by a winged fairy, and in order to make her stay with him, he cuts off her wings, but to his heartbreak she dies.

As punishment for his actions the other fairies turn James into one of them. Adam Davies and Brittanie Dillion played the lead roles and it was masterfully done.

Well done to all those involved