It was a packed bill of fare for the Bermuda Civic Ballet's Fall Concert at City Hall.

Eight separate pieces meant that there was something for everybody and in its 21st year, this group, now under the direction of Coral Waddell, demonstrates that it is making an all-out effort to embrace just about every kind of dance -- and in so doing, hopefully attract wider and larger audiences.

The sold-out Saturday night audience was wildly enthusiastic, hinting that there is potential here, after all, for the traditional `balletomane' audience which greets its favourite dancers with rapturous cheers and whistles.

Local dancers were supplemented by guests from the Dance Theatre of Harlem and Bermuda was rightly proud to welcome back one of those dancers as their own.

Sophia Cannonier, who trained at Bermuda's School of Russian Ballet and was a regular performer with Civic Ballet, is now a member of the main Harlem company. And even though her last guest appearance here (as Myrthe in the 1990 production of Giselle) was memorable, her hard work since has paid off; her always attractive stage personality is now matched by a formidable technique.

This was immediately apparent in the opening tableau of Adagietto, a wondrous piece of dance invention by Royston Muldoon, the British choreographer who worked with Civic Ballet in the early '80s and whose ballets are now in the repertoires of Harlem and other major dance companies.

As Cannonier's legs unfolded in slow, wide scissor-splits, dramatically echoed by her partner, the two embarked on intertwining movements of geometric complexity.

As she danced, first with one partner, then the other, she revealed a perfect sense of line and imbued this rather sad little piece with an air of sensuous lyricism. This is a work of compelling tension as well as visual beauty, the theme being that of the eternal triangle. Fabian Barnes and Patrick Johnson epitomise that strong sense of muscular power which is one of the hallmarks of Mitchell's dancers.

The programme opened with a new work by Coral Waddell, an experienced dance professional who, at one time, ran a small company, the Copley Square Ballet in Boston, with no less a personage than the late Ana Roje. Her latest choreographic creation, and her first since 1985, was Symphonic Dreams, set for six dancers to Bizet's Symphony in C. The classical concept was softened by the long dresses of the girls which, for no particular or apparent reason, were reminiscent of American pioneer days.

Jill Andrews, in the leading role, has been dancing in Civic Ballet productions since her arrival here from the US about three years ago. She is a competent dancer and was ably supported by guest artist Jeffrey Watson in some rather elegant arabesques en promenade and they brought an obvious rapport to their partnership.

There were two short solo pieces in this programme, the first being Four One, a zippy little number in neo-classical vein by Boston Ballet's David Drummond.

Ariane Pacy, one of his students, danced with aplomb, managing the fouettes with confidence. She also danced a sparkling version of Tchaikovsky's Blue Bird Pas de Deux, set by Patricia Gray from Petipa's The Sleeping Beauty with Jeffrey Watson.

The second solo was Coral Waddell's tribute to "all partners who are no longer with us''. Jill Andrews danced the modern classical solo with an air of quiet reflection as she turned again and again, to the symbolically empty rocking chair, her restrained movement gaining momentum in the realisation that the dance of life itself goes on and on.

When Stephanie Perinchief was invited to stage a work, she came up with the novel idea of inviting, in turn, each dancer featured in her Lady Sings the Blues, to choreograph her own solo. Set to songs from Billie Holiday's repertoire, Perinchief was joined by Kim Durham, Wanda Maxwell, Oneka Paynter and Bernadette Wilson in a medley of well-rehearsed jazz dances. Each solo captured in dance forms that ranged from the sultry to the snappy, the blues singer's plaintive magic.

Suzette Harvey was the choreographer of Afrocentricity, featuring six girls and (more surprisingly) six boys in a suite of dances that hovered between modern jazz and traditional African dance styles.

Authentically clad in African-print costumes by Dean Parris, the rhythmic unison work was effective. The high point of this work, however, was a striking solo by Randal Usher, imperious in a feathered headdress who moved with fluent and commanding precision.

Sophia Cannonier and Patrick Johnson ended the evening on a triumphant note with the show-stopping pas de deux from Le Corsaire. This is the most memorable moment from Petipa's ballet based on Byron's poem of that name and Karl Shook has retained the spirit, if not the exact choreography in his version for the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Patrick Johnson, clad in shimmering gold, brought more dramatic sense than usual to the piece by remaining firmly in his pirate character. Sophia Cannonier's radiant stage presence carried her through the fiendishly difficult technical hurdles, including the dreaded `fish dives' and they both brought a fine sense of timing and panache to the spectacular high lifts.

As an overall observation, there is still an unfortunate tendency on the part of all of our dancers (not just Civic Ballet) to grin inanely at the most inappropriate moments.

Why is it that so many of them give the impression that they have absolutely no idea why they are on stage? If they are only interested in the physical aspect, they might as well switch to gymnastics. There is a real need for our young dancers to be schooled in stagecraft as well as technique.

The Civic Ballet expressly arranged this performance as a concert, partly to offset their main summer production, which tends to be a full-length, traditional ballet work.

Eight pieces on one bill, with two intervals, however, is surely going from one extreme to the other. There is the impression that we are served constant hors d'oeuvres but never quite get round to the main meal.

Civic Ballet has, in any case, reached the point where it can -- and should, develop more fully some of the themes they have just touched upon in this programme.

PATRICIA CALNAN Sophia Cannonier.