Russian National Ballet, Fairfield Hall, Croydon

Trim Cinders lacks personality

As a change from the Tchaikovsky ballets indefatigably trotted around by numerous small companies from Russia, the Russian National Ballet opened its Croydon season with Prokofiev's Cinderella before going on to the expected Nutrackers, Swans and Beautys. This was a bold choice, since the company, founded in the late 1980s and directed by the former Bolshoi principal Sergei Radchenko, is on the small side for such an ambitious work, and so is its orchestra, under Vladimir Moiseyev.

Yuri Vetrov, another former Bolshoi dancer, has trimmed the story to fit the company's resources, eliminating quite a few characters, rejigging and cutting bits of the music, and making do with a modest corps de ballet. The show now comes in, with one intermission, at under two hours. Vetrov is also listed as choreographer, supposedly with the more famous Rostislav Zakharov, who created the original production at the Bolshoi in 1945, but I did not recognise any contribution by him.

There is a peculiar new character, called the Time Lord, replacing all those midgets who used to represent the hours; and, to allow the Prince to try the lost slipper on several potential brides without needing scene-changes for his travels, the ladies are brought to him – a neat dodge, with the dancers who played the Fairies of the Seasons reappearing as Mauritian, Spanish, Chinese and Russian princesses. The young Olga Sizykh is outstanding among this quartet as Autumn Fairy and Spanish Princess.

Radchenko and Vetrov were both character dancers, which makes it surprising that neither choreography nor performance reveals much characterisation. Valery Shumilov, the brusque, rather heavy Prince, does show an unexpectedly sour temper when searching for his lost love, but I'm not sure that's a great idea.

Vetrov goes for the usual Russian idea of having the stepsisters played by women, rather than ugly, florid and bitchy transvestite termagants. Anastasia Blokhina and Anna Nekhlyudova give these a deal of vivacity; the mother is played by a man, but Maxim Vasiliev does it pretty straight, not as a pantomime dame.

Olga Grigorieva in the title role does what the choreographer has given her prettily enough, but doesn't show herself able to provide the personality and purposefulness that are missing from the dances. There is a jester, sparkily danced by Alexander Rupyshev, whose role is lively but without much depth, and whose dances become perhaps a little repetitious.

The settings by Pyotr Williams were designed for the big Bolshoi stage and have been cut back for this use; they are handsome enough but don't particularly enhance the action. All in all, an interesting attempt at the ballet by a company that seems to be fighting above its weight.

The RNB season continues until 31 Dec (020-8688 9291)