If you want to see American ballet at its best, there’s nothing better than the choreography of George Balanchine. The Suzanne Farrell Ballet seeks to remind the audience of that with three of his works at The Kennedy Center. They'll perform two different all-Balanchine mixed repertory programs the company will present over the remainder of the holiday week and weekend.

Often referred to as the father of American ballet, Balanchine found a muse in Suzanne Farrell in 1961 when she joined The New York City Ballet and became his most prominent ballerina, with many works composed especially for her.

As Artistic Director of the company, the pressure is on Farrell to reconstruct Balanchine’s works and she does it beautifully in this program. Ballet fans and newbies alike will understand why Balanchine’s legacy is so treasured.

As perfect as a Balanchine ballet is supposed to be, however, the company came up short a few times throughout the performance. The evening was off to a shaky start with Bugaku, a work influenced in music, costume, and movement by the elegance of Japanese culture. Soloist Natalia Magnicaballi seemed unsure of herself with slightly shaky leg support and a reluctance to truly perform choreography that should be second nature by performance time, though the other performers carried the work.

The company picked up the pace with Pas Classique Espagnol from Balanchine’s ballet Don Quijote. The execution was much stronger than in the first piece, though soloist Ashley Hubbard did bring the audience to collectively gasp in shock when she took a sharp, loud fall onto the hollow stage in Tuesday's performance. To Hubbard’s credit, she didn’t miss a beat, dancing through the work and even coming back to perform in the evening’s final work, Chaconne. Farrell made an excellent choice by ending the evening with Chaconne, which showed off the company’s strength as a collective group.

The costumes are a highlight of the program, which the Washington Post acknowledged this recently when they praised Farrell’s efforts to recreate costumes from when she performed some of these works herself, such as Bugaku. And though Balanchine’s works will draw a crowd looking to experience tradition, The Kennedy Center helps the company reach out towards the next generation of internet-savvy art enthusiasts with Notes from the Ballet, Farrell’s space on The Kennedy Center’s Web site.

The company will continue their engagement at The Kennedy Center’s Opera House through November 25; purchase tickets here.

Photo of Bugaku performance by Carol Pratt.