Aurora's Wedding.

The curtain opened on Ballet Florida's Aurora's Wedding (Act III of The Sleeping Beauty) as if a page had been turned in a children's storybook, and the pretty little episode unfolded, bright and simple. The look of the ballet made this wedding a contained affair: all of us here know we're royalty, so why not flaunt it? With clear lines and true colors, scenic, costume, and lighting designers followed the choreographer's frank spirit. New York City Ballet's Sean Lavery created this production especially for the company, seemingly to counter any grand--grandiose--elaboration on Petipa.

From the presentation of the court to the newlyweds, pas de deux, intense light bathed the setting--an archway with a view of formal gardens (a Smith Architectural Group design)--leaving no doubt that all shadows had been expelled from this kingdom. To celebrate, fairy-tale characters danced their divertissements, which sported not only the traditional touches but also some original characters.

The regulation Precious Gems and Metals were replaced by Amethyst, Topaz, and Ruby, danced by Janine Harris, Charla Metzker, and Dan Harris respectively. Their trio work was strung together by arabesques and individual displays with distinctive shading, such as his nicely executed turns a la seconde and the women's gentle passes and flurries of footwork. Only the closing of some phrases could have been tighter, which was also the case for an otherwise free-flying Bluebird (Markus Schaffer) and Princess Florine (Jessica Benton).

As though Lavery wanted to remind us that Tchaikovsky and company were the same fine folks who brought us The Nutcracker, a bevy of youngsters gave kiddie appeal to the Jesters--like exiles from the Kingdom of the Sweets--and to Little Red Riding Hood's thwarting of the Wolf. Wendy Laraghy and Jerry Opdenaker padded and pawed, making Puss in Boots quintessentially, well, catty.

We've come to associate Aurora's movements--her fish dives, say--with a bride's trust in her groom. But here, Tina Martin and Eric Midgley's union seemed far too cautious, although her attenuated phrasing did give way to sparks in her variation, where she let herself be wooed more convincingly by the violin.

Although Ballet Florida continues to explore the classical past, the company looks more at home in contemporary repertory. Thanks to this troupe, South Florida has access to works by the other choreographers represented on this program, Ben Stevenson and Val Caniparoli. The dancers were as attuned to the forlorn images of Stevenson's Four Last Songs, using the work by Richard Strauss, as they were to Caniparoli's rambunctious Lambarena, stirring Bach with African rhythms.

Most dramatic in the Stevenson ballet--where even the "Fruhling" ("Spring") section showed frost on the blossoms--Harris, Tracy Mozingo, and Dale Michael Rowse enlivened "September" with responsiveness to one another and to the music. Martin concluded the gentle involvement in the crepuscular "Im Abendrot" ("At Gloaming").

The joyful declarations of Lambarena had individuals--Benton and Manuel Ureta, for example--heightening its color by their vivacious gestures, but the sweeping dynamic was a full-cast accomplishment.