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Tchaikovsky’s Ballo della Regina, featuring Gillian Murphy and David Hallberg, commenced the program. Staged by its creating ballerina, Merrill Ashley, with four soloists and a twelve woman corps, Verdi’s music from Don Carlos gives virtually all performers a chance to accent the music with their hands, passes and quick changes forward and back in fourth position on point. The results are very clear, specific, on the picky side, augmented by a number of grand jetes and double tours for Hallberg.

Regina provided me with the first chance to regard the talents of Misty Copland, Maria Riccetto, Hee Seo and Jacquelyn Reyes. Copland has qualities of the nineteenth century ballerina, particularly in dramatic phrasing and punctuation. She dances opposite Herman Cornejo in Sinatra Suite at the Sunday matinee.

Maria Riccetto, from Uruguay, is the clear lyricist amongst the four, long of limb and given to a luscious capacity for retarding the phrase. Jacquelyn Reyes, joining the corps in 2004 after being selected for the studio company in 2003, is small, blonde, beautifully precise and , while contained, projects a strong emotional focus.

Hee Sou won me over entirely; she is slender, almost spiky, her head, shoulders and epaulement completing the movement with clear refinement, totally at one with the music. She also was the only soloist who smiled with evident pleasure at every phrase of the music, grand jetes matching Hallberg’s in height.

Murphy and Hallberg related well to each other; both are real movers. Murphy’s line has to cope with obvious muscle development on both sides of the leg just below the knee. Clearly suited to precise execution, I wish she demonstrated her pleasure in dancing a bit more.

At last I’ve had the opportunity to assess Hallberg’s dancing, having read so much about him in various dance journal and reviews. I wish I could see him as the Death figure in Green Table. Peter Martins’ aside, Hallberg is Erik Bruhn’ successor to classicism seen to date. Physically and technically, his lines are etched in space like a textbook manual: high grand jetes, clear double tours with no hint of hunching in a pair of sloping shoulders, port de bras neatly finished in unfussy hands, attentive partnering.

Applause was warm and appreciative.

From the auspicious opening we went to the evenings brief nadir: The Rose Adagio from Sleeping Beauty with Paloma Herrera as Aurora, Blaine Hoven, Isaac Steppas, Jared Matthews, Patrick Ogle as competing princes from Russia, Spain, India and one from the Celts. Oi Vey as the Yiddish phrase goes, what happened to Willa Kim’s creative faculties when costuming these dynastic delegates? They looked foreshortened in height, lost in shiny fabric, bringing to mind comments previously registered by New York critics.

Paloma Herrera arrived with lots of little pink rosebuds scattered over her bodice and tutu, a spiky circle of rhinestones to proclaim her regal status. Despite the obvious challengers, I didn’t for a minute believe in what she danced. She started out looking like an pale imitation of Margot Fonteyn, required centering by her four suitors in the first series of balances, ending with more or less stable promenades. I found myself thinking Herrera's contract specifies she dance so many times in a month; her rotation occurred in Berkeley, a rote rendition of a classic if ever there was one.

From there we were treated to Le Corsaire with Xiomaria Reyes and Herman Cornejo. For all the umpha, umpha qualities in music and choreography, the pair swept across the stage like the fresh fall breezes chilling the night air outside Zellerbach. Both are small physically, totally precise, Reyes alternating her single fouettes with consistent doubles, her chaines lineally correct, shoulders firmly held, a subdued sense of pleasure and just the hint, of “see what I can do?” Cornejo give us a six turn pirouette at the beginning of his variation, his barrel tours high, traveling at a minimum, grand jetes and pirouettes a la seconde a far gone conclusion. There was no nonsense, but the bravura throughout was marked by belief.

The audience went wild.

Fancy Free has worn well and continues as a essential slice of balletica Americana.The work was added to San Francisco Ballet’s repertoire recently; intriguing to see differences and similarities. Julie Kent danced her usual skillful, tender-but-playful portrait of Janet Reed’s original role; Stella Abrera hit the mark with Muriel Bentley’s typical New Yorker, quick, determined, with Melissa Thomas providing luscious come-hither port de bras and long lines in her brief moments. Cornejo’s variation was delivered like a bantam weight champ - all one, two punch - driving, earnest. Radetsky’s dreamer lacked the movement retard which Kriza managed to convey, just a tad more and it would be perfect. Salstein’s rhumba boy, the role choreographer Jerome Robbins originated, was exactly as expected, if minus the wry overtones Robbins could infuse in his dancing. Julio Brigado-Young gave us a laconic bartender.