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In Stars, Bouder was even more stupendous, flirting with the often stolid Veyette and drawing him out of his shell, pumping her arms as if she were holding invisible pom-poms, and everywhere attacking this role with a charm and exuberance that belied its technical brutality. In her big solo, she turned every single pique turn of a circle about the stage into double pirouettes, intersperse with a couple of double-doubles (step up on one foot with a double pirouette, then immediately step back onto the other with still another double). For the first time since watching old films of Hayden, I've seen a ballerina in Stars modulate her long diagonal of soutenu turns into big splits to the side so that each split jump is bigger and higher than the preceding one. Bouder didn't manage this feat so much by making sure to start small, as she did by finishing big. At a point when most dancers are running out of steam, she was just hitting her stride.
 

Again, the orchestra under Briskin's baton sounded fabulous. Some of his tempi for the men's campaign in Stars might've been a bit on the fast side, except that this current crop of Peter Martins' whiz kids kept up with no trouble at all; indeed, it was about the best I've seen an a group of men deliver this thrilling and exhausting ensemble. Imagine spending ten minutes leaping almost non-stop about the stage and then having to finish with four double tours in a row, performed in unison. Yes, it was awe-inspiring.