The Paris Opera Ballet Junior Company, in only its first year (by contrast, the main troupe is the oldest in the world), offered the most intriguing program, presenting pieces by the likes of George Balanchine, Maurice Béjart, and Annabelle López Ochoa. In Balanchine’s “Allegro Brillante,” Natalie Vikner brought old-school elegance to the ballerina role, carrying herself with the same regal command of Tchaikovsky’s score. The more difficult the footwork became, the more she seemed to delight in it; look what I can do, she seemed to say, and how effortlessly. Most touching, however, was the care between Vikner and her partner, Davide Alphandery: taking his head in her arms, throwing her weight off-balance, she swooned. 

The next work on the bill, Béjart’s “Cantate 51,” offered a star vehicle for Angélique Brosse. As the barefoot, modern dancer who spends the first portion of the ballet asleep at the foot of the stage, Brosse commanded attention before she even sprung into motion; her stillness runs deep. Once moving, her power became even clearer: positions seemed carved from the inside out, as if each new pose revealed something essential. As authoritative as she was, it was difficult to take your eyes off Grace Boyd, who performed as one of the duet girls. With a happy-go-lucky smile and warm disposition, she shone. It didn’t hurt that she threw her legs like lances: slicing into space, they extended and retracted with a force all of their own.