Pacific Northwest Ballet, Sadler's Wells, London

A big cheer for Pacific Northwest Ballet. Silver Lining, the show that opened their second London season, is pure entertainment and, at the same time, first-rate dancing. It is entirely their own, made specially for these dancers, but it extends them into something new: singing. Also, it joyfully celebrates their own American culture in the musicals of Jerome Kern. If only more companies would work like this. Kent Stowell made the piece, we are told, out of sheer nostalgic enthusiasm for the movies and shows that inspired his youthful self to become a dancer. The enthusiasm is clear, and he has succeeded in passing it to the company, who perform with a whole-hearted unanimity. There are lots of solos, duets and other small ensembles to show off the principals and soloists, but it is the complete group who are applauded from the very beginning, three dozen of them dancing to the title number, right through to the end, when more like four dozen join in the reprises, that make up the finale.

They not only dance with zip and crisp vivacity, but also Stowell has them all join in singing the familiar words, and groups of them give vocal support for several of the other numbers too. Kern's music provides one much-loved song after another, but there are a surprising amount of unfamiliar items too. Russell Warner arranged and orchestrated them with a skill developed over three decades of working vintage musicals, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra give themselves a good time playing joyously under Stewart Kershaw's direction. I'm not sure whether the right solo voices do really exist any longer, but Valerie Piacenti and Erich Parce perform with eager charm.

"Lovely to look at" is, inevitably, one of the numbers, and Silver Lining lives up to that with Ming Cho Lee's snazzy multiple set designs and the costumes by David Murin, a modern adaptation of period clothes for stage and screen. The dancers are good to look at too, most of all perhaps Louise Nadeau with Paul Gibson in a sentimental complete scene from Sweet Adeline or, in quite contradictory mood, Nadeau wildly erotic with Olivier Wevers in the Cotton Club "Whip-Poor-Will". Patricia Barker and Jeffrey Stanton are aptly romantic in their "Wishing Well" duet, and Carrie Imler contributes to a neat conjuring trick before leading "The Night was made for Love".

Kaori Nakamura and Le Yin have a balletic showpiece to an unexpectedly smoochy version of "Smoke Gets in your Eyes"; Stanko Milov is great with Ariana Lallone in "The Last Time I saw Paris"; and Jonathan Porretta leads a snappy novelty number to "Pick Yourself Up". But, as I said, it's the total effect that counts: a lovely company.

Silver Lining is not "high art"; Pacific Northwest Ballet save that for their second programme. But I enjoyed it more than any other company at Sadler's Wells since Pina Bausch last January – and a theatre that can present such extremes of excellence is certainly doing something right.