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The oldest work in the programme was the pas de deux Zakouski, made by director Peter Martins in 1991. It's a very slight piece, no more than a programme filler, and though Andrew Veyette has the style and the character to make something worthwhile out of his solo, the rest of it looked simultaneously fussy and dull. Presumably Martins included it partly to allow Nikolaj Hübbe, for whom it was created, to make a farewell appearance in London, and it was sad that Hübbe couldn't make it in the end.

The evening opened with a piece by the company's favourite choreographer of recent years, Christopher Wheeldon. Carousel (A Dance) is based on two numbers from the Richard Rodgers musical - 'If I Loved You' and the big waltz - and is full of circles and other carousel-ish images, with just a nod to the characters and plot of the original. We've seen a lot of Wheeldon's current style here recently and it's quite a shock, and a real pleasure, to see him working in a much freer, more lyrical mode: people run, and jump, and smile, and and fall in love and fling themselves into each other's arms, and it's brightly lit and brightly costumed as well. The male lead was created for Damian Woetzel and it's perfect for him; Tiler Peck was charming as his girl friend, the role originally danced by Alexandra Ansanelli. It's a light, likeable ballet and - a real rarity - too short, at only 15 minutes.

Judging by the reaction of the audience, Mauro Bigonzetti's In Vento was the hit of the evening - it got as much whistling and cheering as any of the Balanchine works I saw earlier. Not for me, though. It looked like a slice of life in one of the less gruesome circles of hell, where the 'unseen, but nonetheless powerful forces' which buffeted the dancers were the forces of guilt and misery, and dysfunctional relationships were eternally replayed. Having read the programme notes too quickly, I assumed the sudden, unmotivated changes of mood were driven by a score adapted from some other purpose and I was very surprised to discover later that Bruno Moretti and Bigonzetti collaborated closely on its creation. A hardworking cast led by Benjamin Millepied and Teresa Reichlen did all they could for the piece, but they had no opportunity to show themselves as more than hyper-flexible and highly trained bodies.

Alexei Ratmansky's Russian Seasons was made for the same 2006 'new works' season as In Vento - but what a contrast! Unpretentious and accessible, colourful both literally and emotionally, it reveals the dancers as real people who can touch our hearts with both joy and sadness. It's given shape by following the rituals of the Orthodox Church through a calendar year: that, the hints of folk dance and Leonid Desyatnikov's score ground the work unmistakeably in Russia, but the emotions are universal. Galina Solovyeva's simple costumes are in plain, vivid colours and I loved the women's hats, hinting at wimples whilst also looking chic and flattering. Rebecca Krohn and Wendy Whelan stood out from an excellent cast. It's the best piece I've seen from Ratmansky and a worthy addition to this company's great repertoire.