Admittedly, it doesn’t always follow an expected path. Consider the opening of the piece, as a Queen of the Night-type figure (to mix operatic metaphors) stands monumental, center stage, wielding a fan like a saber as an army of tuxedo’d men pony around her, carrying the edges of her flowing black skirt in a continuous wave. We cut, after this scene, to a strictly domestic view, which begins the narrative.

“Die Fledermaus” resists the neat categorization of a true classical ballet. So integral to Petit’s choreography is his use of pantomime and more character-driven movement. When the family—husband Johann (Masayu Kimoto), wife Bella (Ketevan Papava), and their five children—are sat for dinner, served by their maid (Laura Nistor)—they pretend to eat by rapidly pummeling their arms in front of them. When Ulrich (Eno Peci), a family friend and Bella’s eventual co-conspirator, arrives, he performs a dandyish petite allegro as the children cheer.

In their first pas de deux, Kimoto and Papava punctuate more balletic phrases with cheeky accents. One repeated gesture brings the couple chest to chest as they scuttle, penguin-like, together. These moves lean pedestrian and add some friction to the way they relate to one another. It can’t be so much of a surprise when Kimoto later emerges from bed to sneak out. It is, however, a delight to see him suddenly outfitted with bat wings as he flies into the night—literally. Hoisted up by a cable, the dancer waves his arms like a hawk, but flutters his legs in a shimmy, both flexed in attitude behind him.