The real hit of the National Ballet of China's London visit was the work it saved for last, Raise the Red Lantern. An adaptation of Zhang Yimou's film, the ballet is a brilliant reimagining of cinematic principles for the stage. First seen in Beijing in 2001 (and previously seen here in 2003), it ushered in the millennium with a bold determination to give Chinese ballet a new face. Which is precisely what it does. On every front - choreography, music and design - Raise the Red Lantern is a distinctive and persuasive calling card for modern Chinese culture.

Like Zhang's film, which was a global hit in the early 1990s, it tells a horrifying tale of repression, violence and sexual slavery in feudal China, seen through the eyes of a young girl forced to be concubine to a rich and ruthless lord. In so doing, she becomes a virtual prisoner, leaving behind the actor she loves. When she resumes her relationship with him in secret, a rival concubine betrays her to the Master, and disobedience means death.

With Zhang as director and librettist, it's not surprising that the ballet packs such a punch. The drama's punctuation points are strikingly theatrical, from the reluctant bride's horrific wedding night - a rape realised in shocking silhouette - to the final execution scene, its brutality conveyed in loud symbolic thwacks against a screen that bleeds red with every swing. Zeng Li's potent designs suggest the ostentatious wealth of the Master's house and, through the hanging red lanterns, his power over a household of women. Jérôme Kaplan's 1930s-inspired costumes are elegant. Chen Qigang's music, using traditional Chinese elements and Western orchestration, provides rhythmic juice and melodic felicity.

The choreography (credited to Wang Xinpeng and Wang Yuanyuan) blends the high legs of classical ballet with the sculpted expressionism of Peking Opera. The ensemble - separate parades of women and men - is drilled to precision, while the choreography for the female soloists, the Master's playthings, seethes with desire and jealousy. Throughout, the performances were stunning, conveyed with a force and conviction that seemed to come straight from the heart. If this is the new face of Chinese ballet, let's have more.

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