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The evening started with Pas de Quatre, an all too rare Romantic offering. One can see though why the Trocks have claimed it as their property, as it needs impeccable presentation to avoid ridicule. The constant nodding at each other and at the conductor can become hilarious without the right expression, and casting the four ballerina roles is not easy. Yana Selina, who danced soloist parts in every single act of every single performance in Baden-Baden, once again gave a masterful performance as Carlotta Grisi. She senses how to make a pose right – her torso and soft arms were a wonder throughout. Maria Shirinkina, the young dancer who was given the most prominence in Baden-Baden, brought freshness to the first variation. A promising account, although she doesn't carry her Romantic part all the way through. Nadejda Gonchar was a fine if unremarkable Fanny Cerrito, but most puzzling was Ekaterina Kondaurova as Marie Taglioni. For one thing she towers over her fellow ballerinas, and she is oh so wrong for this Pas that she seemed to opt to perform it with understated irony. Her strong, muscular build tend to bring back memories of the Trocks once in a while, unfortunately. A commanding performance by a modern ballerina, but some consideration of emploi would not hurt – she doesn't deserve such a disservice.

The audience was then treated to a performance of Carnival in Venice that included a small corps de ballet. Evgenia Obraztsova entered with a mask on, soon removed by Vladimir Shklyarov. One of the Mariinsky's most promising couples, they shone for all the right reasons; they are luminous on stage. Their dancing is devoid of any tricks, and beautifully articulated. It is a special privilege to see Evgenia Obraztsova grow in authority as the years go by. She has very soft features that have identified her with young heroines such as Masha and Juliet, but seeing her with a mask on on made it clear what a fully-fledged ballerina she is also becoming. What beauty in her fluid account of the intricate female variation, perfectly in tune with the music... Shklyarov was stunning as her suitor and brought unparalleled enthusiasm to the stage. Sunny, eager to communicate – what a prince.

Ulyana Lopatkina and Ivan Kozlov then presented Contradictions, a contemporary pas de deux by Francesco Ventriglia to Yann Tiersen music. It is an average, forgettable anguished pas de deux that has the dancers fighting and falling to the floor in despair. The very special qualities of Lopatkina seem to dissolve in such choreography – frail and angular, she doesn't take over the stage as she usually does, and as she did later in Paquita.

The second part brought us a rarity of a ballet, Laurencia Pas d'Action. Unfortunately, in the absence of the originally scheduled Viktoria Tereshkina, the audience witnessed such a dull performance that it was hard to reflect at all on the choreography. Elena Evseeva was unremarkable in the lead role; tentative in the jumps, she didn't exude either character or poetry in her dancing. Mikhail Lobukhin looked consequently uninspired, and made mistakes in his variation. The soloists (Nadejda Gonchar, Yana Selina, Alexey Timofeev, Filipp Stepin) gave a professional performance, but seemed understandably tired, especially the overworked Gonchar and Selina. This is a piece that would be a wonderful vehicle for Tereshkina or Natalia Osipova though, and hopefully it will be back.

Olesya Novikova and Vladimir Shklyarov were handed a perennial gala piece, Balanchine's Tchaikovsky pas de deux. A few minutes of intoxicating freshness - they drew the quiet gala audience in their own summer breeze. Leonid Sarafanov then did the honours in Gsovsky's Grand Pas Classique, as strong as ever, while Alina Somova somehow got through her variation (not even changing the height of her développés in the famous diagonal – no, wait, she did knock her head with the last one).

Last but not least came Paquita and the return of the reigning Queen, Ulyana Lopatkina. She danced in a realm of her own in Baden-Baden. Her entrances said it all – she steps onto the stage in a slow, thoughtful manner, as if descending from her personal Olympus, suddenly slowing down the whirlwind of variations. Utterly relaxed, she claimed the choreography as her own, shrugging off a mistake and wandering fouettés with an amused smile. Who else brings such spirituality to the last female variation? She seemed to be spinning her own thoughts. She has the freedom of mature dancers who no longer dance with overarching thoughts of competition, promotion, career – having nothing left to prove, she is there for the art.

Danila Korsuntsev was her ever-reliable partner, and after a tired pas de trois, Elena Evseeva, Ekaterina Kondaurova, Evgenia Obraztsova and Maria Shirinkina were cast in the variations. The fifth one (jumping one) was cut altogether. Ekaterina Kondaurova was a highlight, finally giving the full measure of her classical technique, and Obraztsova was as delightful as ever in the Amor variation. With Lopatkina to crown the Grand Pas, Paquita was the gorgeous send-off of an uneven tour – hopefully though the Mariinsky will be back in Germany, and even stronger.