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Welch, an incredibly facile choreographer, excels in beautiful, easy phrasing, glorying in the technical whiz-bang abilities of Kristin Long with Pascal Molat as attentive partner; Welch has used Long at least twice in the creation of bravura exercises. Molat’s pizazz was not well used, nor did his pairing with Long bring out the best of both. Yuan Yuan Tan and Ruben Martin also did not seem in sync as the second couple. At the May 2 performance Katita Waldo, Tiit Helimets, Vanessa Zahorian and Garrett Anderson assumed the assignments. Waldo entered majestically, dancing with great serenity, Helimets matching her mood. Zahorian with her greater length gave the bravura more lyricism; Anderson’s grands jetes, lower than Molat’s ebullient ballon, displayed an unaffected, forward thrust, wonderful and different.

The principals were admirably supported by Frances Chung, Nicole Grand, Elizabeth Miner, Brett Bauer, Hansuke Yamamoto and Nicolas Blanc. April 23, but their skill was little showcased any more than the May 2 replacements Clara Blanco, Diego Cruz, Anthony Spaulding.

Julia Adam, in A rose by any other name, chose J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations to frame a white-garmented synopsis of La Belle Au Bois Dormant; the woods were shaped by the white-gloved hands of four men doubling as fairies and suitors, gloves sprouting antler-like representations of wood, small dead branches painted white, the imaginative creations of Christin Darch. The Fairy of Generosity, adroitly sketched by Daniel Devision, tossed paper money; after exiting, he returned for a tip for his supernatural bestowal; Brett Bauer as the Fairy of Beauty danced glued to his mirror. The Lilac Fairy/Prince, Gennadi Nedvigin opposite Kristin Long, Tiit Helimets opposite Tina LeBlanc, gave Evil Witch Elizabeth Miner a portent of what is planned for La Belle, sending Miner, arms upraised like La Liberte at Parisian street barricades, into further fury.

Posture and movement proceeded like antique Greek and Egyptian bas relief, feet 45 degrees to lower leg, similarly arms raised to frame the face, torso twisted and tilting from the waist, arms frequently like a Coppelia remake even in pirouettes.

Kristin Long’s remarkable bravura made her stick figure Aurora an object of crispness while Tina LeBlanc provided a one-dimensional interpretation with something verging on delicate whimsy. Difficult choosing between classicists Nedvigin and Helimets as Lilac Fairy/Prince.

James Kudelka’s The Ruins Proclaim The Building Was Beautiful somehow evoked a Muslim Zenana; the curtain rose to dim lighting, ten corps de ballet women in stationary bourrees down stage right, pinkish longer classical tutus dripping tatters or feathers like moulting flamingoes, heads inclined like captive birds. With three sets of partners to the strains of adapted Caesar Franck, the ensemble moved up stage left, forming various lines or clusters, as soloists seemed to float disconsolately through the corps. The men, Aaron Orza, Martyn Garside and Pierre-Francois Vilanoba, moodily dressed in elegant grey coats which seem inspired by a Tolstoy novel, move through the ensemble, partnering the trio, 19th century young roues taking pleasure according to varying taste. Albert Vanderlinden and James Sofranko appeared with equal effect in the supporting macho roles May 2, dancing opposite Elana Altman and Frances Chung April 23, May 2 Charlene Cohen and Miriam Rowan. The mood conveyed fin de siecle, courtesan life turned tawdry, mold on invisible walls, female dependency minus mastery of workaday skills outside the boudoir.

The extended finishing pas de deux with Yuan Yuan Tan and Pierre- Francois Vilanoba underscored the precarious courtesan life, magnified with clear 'Twenties touches, female awareness not yet up to working class undertakings, a teetering tug between the centuries-old female position and windy fingers of modernity. Tan and Vilanoba executed such demands brilliantly at both performances.

Mark Morris’ Joyride enjoyed the distinction of having composer John Adams conduct the premiere. Morris’ work enjoyed Izrai Mizrahi’s tunics with changing number plaques, a style that looked like metallic versions of winter woollen trunks, their glinting qualities in more or less constant change. The loud, emphatic nature of John Adams’ commissioned music harmonized with the costumes; after two viewings I felt it amounted to strong cacophony. Neither cast of dancers could be faulted, but the impression was not top drawer Morris. Elizabeth Miner was the only repeat in both casts.