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Sandwiched between two Balanchine gems, L’Invitation au voyage (1982) not only displayed Michael Corder’s immediate and honest response to Henri Duparc’s score but gave centre stage to younger dancers. In designer Yolande Sonnabend’s dreamy cloudscape gazebo a mingling of gods and humans muse on the vicissitudes of love. Mezzo-soprano Harriet Williams sings of love’s languor, loss and ecstasy translated by Corder into a simple yet passionate dance language. Young Emma Maguire, partnered by Ernst Meisner, was young love, enthusiastic and adoring while Olivia Cowley perfectly judged the anguish of unqualified adoration. Bethany Keating improves with every appearance but Leanne Benjamin presence lifts any work she is in. Benjamin does not just move to music, she breathes it, her technique precise and fluidly expressive. The group drifted in like a collective memory and thanks to Corder’s unpretentious approach went straight to the heart of the matter; then left. How refreshing.

Mara Galeazzi led the opening Serenade, loving every minute of it and flying along with Tchaikovsky’s exhilarating spirit. Designer Peter Farmer’s vast swags of Imperial grandeur backed Roberta Marquez and Johan Kobborg as they launched into Theme and Variations to close an evening swimming, thanks to Tchaikovsky, with some of the world’s most well loved melodies. The company, and that means the corps de ballet, impressively provided the evening’s back bone.