Even the presentation of the Mae L. Wien awards emphasized these themes. Two of the winners, Oscar Estep and Natalie Glassie, attended the school since age 6. That never happens. Sheryl Ware won the faculty Wien award on the 20th anniversary of her first win. She also set the Waltz solo from “Coppélia,” which Balanchine choreographed on her in 1974. Excerpts from Petipa’s 1884 “Coppélia” were performed at the very first Workshop, in 1965, staged by Danilova. Legacy and regeneration were key. The third student winner, Mia Williams, was not performing due to injury. This was a shame, since last year’s Workshop put her on the map. But she and Estep are slated to join City Ballet as apprentices, so New Yorkers will get a chance to see her after she heals (again, the idea of rebirth).

Balanchine’s “La Source” opened, staged by Suki Schorer, and set the pink tutu tone. Then divertissements from Act III of “Coppélia” introduced the youngest performers at the Workshop, as the curtain lifted to expose twenty-four pint-sized ballerinas in an even pinker pink. There are few ballet passages cuter than their opening dance. The children were so eager to go that they swayed slightly in their opening poses. I suppose you’re never too young to learn that standing still onstage is the hardest thing of all—though the difficulty is probably compounded when you have 10-year-old energy. Dena Abergel and Arch Higgins staged the child performers, and the teenage soloists were taught and coached by Ware (Waltz), Kay Mazzo (Dawn), Aesha Ash (Prayer), and Katrina Killian (Spinner). Happily, Susan Pilarre was back as a stager this year, bringing the third movement andante of Balanchine’s “Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet” to bendy life. And Petrusjka Broholm, from the Royal Danish Ballet, staged the joyous Pas de Six and Tarantella from August Bournonville’s communal “Napoli.”