As a small ensemble established in 2001 to celebrate dancers of black and Asian descent, Ballet Black have built an impressive legacy of new choreographic commissions while successfully fostering an enthusiastic and culturally diverse following. But this uneven triple-bill fails to realise the potential of talented, charismatic dancers.

In House of Dreams pastel-coloured leotards and short romantic tutus reinforce feminine movements and classical vocabulary as Sayaka Ichikawa and Marie Astrid Mence twirl and pose politely across the stage while their male partners’ spring and gallop in trousers that look like foil sweet wrappers. Created by established choreographer Michael Corder House of Dreams is an exercise in balletic form, its true emptiness hidden by dainty veneer. Recordings of Debussy’s familiar piano preludes reinforce the impression we are watching music box dancers rotating without purpose.

Where House of Dreams fails to find meaning in movement, the revival of Captured by Martin Lawrance allows the urgent dissonance of Shostakovich’s String Quartet in F Minor to surge through the dancers’ bodies, combining classical and contemporary vocabularies. Across a darkly-lit stage, the mood shifts from melancholy to tense, aggressive sexuality. In sequined jackets two couples embrace and repel each other in a dark elegiac tango while curling contractions echo the piercing strains of the violin. José Alves’ muscular grace is particularly moving, both earthy and tender.