Verdict: Four Stars

Independent Ballet

Cottier's Theatre, Glasgow

Gathered together, under the moniker of independentBALLET, voila! - three Scottish Ballet dancers stepping up to the Cottier's stage as choreographers in their own right.

Sophie Laplane and Constant Vigier have been in the public eye before, most recently during Fringe 2014 at Dance Base, but Jamiel Laurence was an unknown quantity.

His two short pieces ended the programme on a high of larky, mischievous humour anchored in well-crafted choreography.

In 1 to 10, two dudes deliver specific moves to numbers, initially re-iterated like a warm-up exercise but, as numbers get jumbled out of sequence, meaningful motifs emerge as when 9+2+5 adds up to the frazzling routine of a working day.

Barbershop Duets, to a medley of old popular songs, brought three couples together in vignettes of courtship where there was a cunning hint that musical harmonies might not hold true for relationships.

Lovely musicality, sweetly characterful dance - with the women on lively pointe - this has the makings of a crowd-pleasing one-act.

Constant Vigier's duet, Raw, was several tense, edgy steps away from last year's classically framed Stabat Mater - that Vigier is pushing himself out of any choreographic comfort zone was in evidence across the weekend, during Northern Ballet's showing of choreographic research projects.

As for Sophie Laplane - look out for her newest piece, Maze, as part of Scottish Ballet's autumn programme. At Cottier's, her duets - Puzzle and Oxymore - sizzled with the kind of sharp, attacking interactions of gesture and limb that speak (silent) volumes about the fallings in, and out, of fiercely physical coupledom.

The whole package - performed, as well as choreographed by Scottish Ballet dancers - was a classy start to Cottier's Dance Project season which runs until this Friday.