There is a lot to like in "MasterWorks," the Colorado Ballet's dance variety show on stage at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House.
There's the formal costume drama of George Balanchine's "Theme & Variations," with its princesses in sherbet-colored tutus. There's the contemporary action-packed "In Pieces," a new work from choreographer Val Caniparoli. There's Glen Tetley's primal "The Rite of Spring," a savage ritual that has the dancers nearly naked on stage.
Just as interesting, there is a full evening's worth of daunting music, well played by conductor Adam Flatt and a full orchestra of players: Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky and a new piece from Danish composer Poul Ruders.
That kind of program, all over the map in terms of movement, and unrelenting in difficulty, requires great versatility from dancers and players alike. It puts unusual physical demands on soloists and requires performers with even the smallest parts to deliver the goods.
Fatigue is the enemy here, and with a lineup like this sometimes it wins. There were moments in last weekend's first round of performances when a few good breaths might have been saved for the end, if that's even possible.
But this company, which spends most of its time performing story ballets like "The Nutcracker," showed it has more talent than its community often gets to see. It's not about getting every step in place for this troupe as much as it is about demonstrating team spirit; they help each through, and that's part of the joy in watching them.
That strong personality is led by the featured dancers, and so is the idea that versatility is what makes a dancer great.
Maria Mosina and Alexei Tyukov start their evening as royalty in "Theme & Variations" as he glides her gently through lifts and leg extensions pulled from the classical vocabulary. Set in front of a backdrop of ballerinas respecting the tiny allegro footwork they are assigned, there is an exaggerated, romantic formality in their manner.
Cut to "The Rite of Spring," and the same pair are a ball of sensuality. It's not just that they are stripped down — though it helps — it's that both of these dancers know that a small change in the way they touch or point a toe makes a big difference. Tetley wanted it to be sexy, and it is.
"Rite" was a star vehicle for soloist Adam Still, as well, who must suffer being sacrificed in the dance's ritual. Still has a very athletic way of moving that seems right for the times in which we live. He is a muscled dancer; he looks like a gymnast, and he combines a sinewy sort of power with elegant control of his movements.
There were times when this piece overall lost its character, but Still powered it through to the end, with help from the energized pit in front of him, a collaboration that reminded the audience that this was a musical concert as much as a dance performance.
That cohesion was strongest during "In Pieces." Ruders' music is exotic in the way it shifts from melodic to stark, full-bodied to percussive. It requires 65 musicians, and all must be ready for anything.
Caniparoli met the music with just three men and three women but kept maintained the odd juxtapositions of it shape. Both the men and women were costumed in tutus — grayish, masculine tutus, but tutus still — and it wasn't just for show.
As his dancers moved in unison and as shadows to each other, there wasn't all that much difference in how the men and women positioned their bodies. It was a meaningful nod to ballet's decreasing gender barriers, and a swell complement to the strict boy-girl structure of "Theme & Variations" that had preceded it.
Ray Mark Rinaldi: 303-954-1540, rrinaldi@denverpost.com or twitter.com/rayrinaldi
BALLET MASTERWORKS. The Colorado Ballet presents a program of three works: “The Rite of Spring,” “Theme and Variations” and the world premiere of “In Pieces.” Friday March 1: 7:30 p.m., Saturday March 2, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Sunday March 3: 2:00 p.m. Ellie Caulkins Opera House, 14th and Curtis streets. 303-837-8888 or coloradoballet.org.