This was an evening of fine dancing and excellent choreography from a company at the top of its form. However, if you agree it’s a reviewer’s job to give you the whole picture, you will forgive the rant that follows. Enjoyment of the first two works was greatly diminished by the ludicrous inclusion of a sign-language and mime exponent, who stood at the side of the stage in his own spotlight, often more visible than the dancers, and an insufferable distraction from the performance. Mark Baldwin’s wonderful Eternal Light (pictured) Is set to a requiem by Howard Goodall, and I assumed this man was signing the words. But in the interval I was told he was there to “convey the atmosphere” of the work to the hard of hearing; and indeed for Saint-Saëns’ wordless Carnival of the Animals there he was again — miming the music, a hand held high for a high note or fluttering like a bird for a trill. This nonsense is political correctness gone mad, irritating most of the audience for the benefit of maybe ten people. Benefit? Surely not! If they were busily watching him “convey” an atmosphere that could quite clearly be sensed from the dance even without hearing the music, they would be missing the dance itself.

But what dance it was! Eternal Light is a long and beautiful series of dances for the whole company, expressing ideas about rapture, with the dancers contributing many feelings of their own.

Carnival of the Animals is a revival of Siobhan Davies’ delightful interpretation of Saint-Saëns’ light hearted series of animal sketches . . . the hens and cockerels, the cuckoo deep in the woods, the smoothly elegant swan, all performed in a half-animal, half-human way with wit and charm.

Of the Two Solos as a Tribute to Norman Morrice (a former dancer and artistic director with Rambert), Mikaela Polley’s slow-moving and contemplative piece was the more successful, although Alexander Whitley made the most his own choreography in the second.

Garry Stewart’s Infinity delved into the world of gymnastics and advanced yoga to provide a ritualistic portrayal of the many stages of life from birth to death.

Athletic and powerful it made a fine conclusion.