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Mind you, the Mariinsky Ballet has never been the finest exponent of Bournonville, and it showed again in a few awkward scenes. Vyacheslav Okunev's designs make the first act look outdated – the bleak mansion and ill-assorted costumes might well be one of the reasons James so longs to go and live in a pretty forest full of elegant Sylphs. The corps de ballet and the demi-soloists also showed some uneasiness, including Xenia Romashova as Effie's friend, slightly cramped in her character solo, and Soslan Kulaev, much too tall and properly over-the-top as Gurn (ah, his "I-saw-it-with-the-ping-pong-balls-I-call-my-eyes" mime). The Mariinsky's acting style and expansive dancing simply don't fit into this first act, but their hybrid encounter with a master, whether it be Balanchine or Bournonville, is a fascinating sight in its own right.

Effie, on the other hand, was the ever-delightful Yana Selina, who debuted in the title role a few months ago. She is one of the few Mariinsky soloists who could have been brought up in the Danish tradition, with her sprightly, compact dancing and natural smile – here she doesn't disappoint, and her look of utter despair when Gurn takes her hand at the end of Act I is one of the most poignant moments of the ballet. James's hesitation, however, didn't register quite so strongly, Sarafanov seemingly changing his mind every time a pretty face looked sad – but the production perhaps doesn't give its full value to those fleeting moments in which he has to make a decision.

Madge (Elena Bazhenova) is another simplistic character in this production, a witch in true Disney fashion, but the corps de ballet, despite its current flaws, rarely lets the audience completely down. Act II brought some lovely tableaux, led by Daria Vasnetsova, whose soulful face is a natural fit for Romantic ballets, and Maria Shirinkina, who is growing more and more confident. The Russians' expansiveness is more at home in this part of the ballet, if not truly faithful to the Danish master. Uneven extensions at times didn't deter Bournonville's choreography from shining through, and its apparent simplicity still casts a spell that allows the audience to focus on something else than technique and star turns. The structure of La Sylphide is so organic that the ballet, at two short acts, feels complete. The Sylph is the Stranger in Act I, a creature fundamentally outside of the group delineated in the character dances, but in following her James becomes the Stranger – his presence in the circle formed by the Sylphs is equally odd, and the tragic ending is the only logical answer to their supposedly Romantic, impossible association.

In this context, Leonid Sarafanov is a blissfully innocent, impulsive lad, whose hesitation between Effie and the Sylph feels like a whim. As youthful-looking as ever, he fits the part of James better than the more mature Prince roles, and his technique remains superlative, although he has to restrain himself in Bournonville and had a rough time with some of the turns. He may be unsubtle, but he complements the softer, more Romantic Obraztsova very well.

La Sylphide was Evgenia Obraztsova's second leading role when she left the Vaganova Academy, and perhaps the one she has returned to most often since. Her delicate stature, old-fashioned neck line and porcelain face are a Romantic dream, all too rare nowadays. Her lines remain more Russian than Danish, with more than a few lifted hip arabesques, but her dancing has an organic quality that beautifully mirrors the ballet and doesn't interrupt its flow, choosing lightness over 180° jumps. She has mastered every thankless technical difficulty, and her musicality, arms, the timeless balances she finds – this is a born Sylph, fully realised. Obraztsova seems to be the image of the butterfly she captures in the second act, making something extraordinarily fluttery and simple out of the small jumps with clapping hands. Later it is again her fluttering hand reaching for the sky and stopping dead, then the way she mimes her lost wings, that show her imminent death – her eyes in another dimension already, hinting at Giselle's mad scene. An emotional, masterly performance, worth taking this Sylphide out of Saint-Petersburg.