Although “Bourrée” is flagrantly silly—the opening bars of Emmanuel Chabrier’s music give that away: all bombastic drums and circus brasses—it doesn’t hit its comedic marks as well as “Western.” Balanchine established his spoofing tone well, but he never settled on a theme. Flashy costumes in French and Spanish styles clash; there are short and stiff tutus as well as long and flowing ones, in shades of lilac, mustard, and magenta. There are fans and berets, fingerless lace gloves and corsetry. It’s as if Balanchine couldn’t decide if he wanted to send up the Moulin Rouge or Don Quixote. And unlike in many of his episodic works, Balanchine threw these disparate factions together in a blender at the end. It’s a finale to end all finales: crossing wedges of sauts de chat, massive concentric circles of sautés, and quicksilver unison steps. This over-the-top ending is Balanchine’s funniest joke, and conductor Andrew Litton kept the pace quick enough to sell the choreographic excess as humorous rather than overwrought.

Top-notch performances helped sell “Bourrée” too. Mira Nadon was having fun with KJ Takahashi in the opening section, blithely bopping his head with her toe. They handled all their goofy back-to-the-audience partnering well. Alexa Maxwell raced through the Fête Polonaise like a thoroughbred doing hurdles, suavely hoisted along by David Gabriel. Emilie Gerrity looked strong in the long-tutu Prélude section opposite Gilbert Bolden III, who continues to shine in taxing double and triple bills. He was a romantic in a beret in “Bourrée” and a cold-hearted gangster in a fedora later in the show in “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.” Last week I saw his convincing turns as a cowboy, a shadow figure, and a cadet all in one night. He’s on track to win MVP of the Fall Season. 

The entire corps looked sharp, flicking their fans open with panache and clearly executing the kaleidoscopic configurations. I loved the extreme port de bras of the Prélude corps women. Their slow, excessive bending showed Balanchine working in a Mannerist vein, which was fascinating. If they had been less emphatic about it, the steps would have appeared conventionally classical. But “Bourrée” offers a glimpse of Balanchine the experimentalist, playfully pushing classical buttons, and Pilarre’s staging had the tenacity to follow through with that intention instead of standardizing and prettifying it. She, the dancers, and the orchestra managed to give this second-rate ballet a first-rate showing.