THERE is a moment during Moscow Ballet-La Classique’s Sleeping Beauty when it looks like the production has been flash-mobbed by the cast of Dick Whittington.

The evil Fairy Carabosse, who casts a retributive spell on Princess Aurora, arrives in a flurry of black fabric, sporting a hooked nose. Played by a man in typical pantomime cross-dressing fashion, “she” is followed by a gang of rat-headed henchmen.

If Elik Melikov’s costume designs during such scenes sometimes fall as flat as the one-dimensional set, with the wigs frequently resembling used cotton wool balls, then the dancing is impeccable.

Drawing on dancers from the Moscow region’s leading theatres, the company brings together Tchaikovsky’s classical music and Marius Petipa’s original 1890 choreography for an evening of chocolate box traditional ballet.

Its reputation for reviving the classics is effectively sealed during the ensemble pieces, with the timing of the good fairies and associated guests being split-second perfect when the princess’s christening is being celebrated.

The pas de deux sequence — during which a series of fairytale characters celebrate the wedding of the princess to Prince Florimund — is similarly well executed.

Puss in Boots and White Cat inject some feline comedy to their performance but, if their intervention could be considered something of a filler, Bluebird and Florine’s duet is seductively athletic and graceful.

It’s a timely reminder that, while companies such as Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures are busy giving ballet staples a post-modern update, value remains in classical performances like this that are at their most shamelessly traditional.

Touring until October, details: royalmoscowballet.com

SUSAN DARLINGTON