Coppelia.

When Terrence S. Orr assumed the artistic directorship of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre last fall, he inherited 1997-98 programming selected by his predecessor, Patricia Wilde. In December he gently tinkered with the first act of PBT's Nutcracker but remained true to George Balanchine's choreography. Midway through this season, the former American Ballet Theatre ballet master revised the bland but serviceable in-house production of Arthur Saint-Leon's Coppelia (1870) that after numerous incarnations had lost its effervescence. The result is a joyous offering that successfully demonstrates his commitment and potential.

Orr refrained from radical changes but illuminated small details, mime passages, comic timing, and stage effects that delight in the moment and leave lasting impressions. For example, as Dr. Coppelius fends off the ruffians, the fleeing Franz and Heinz leapfrog over the old toymaker, their jumps individualized, classically derived, and spatially contrasted.

The workshop scene adheres to familiar dictates, but the automaton dance is better focused. The unique movements and humorous interaction of the finger-pointing Chinese, straddle-splitting Harlequin, and the newly added cymbal-wielding Arabian dolls create a surprisingly virtuosic trio (notably performed by Gregory Hughes, Tad Snider, and Tyler Ingram) that mingles slapstick timing with grandes pirouettes and air turns. This heightened clarity is underscored by William Pitkin's distinctive costumes, acquired from ABT.

Act III's "Festival of the Bells" is plausibly reshaped as a wedding celebration for Swanilda and Franz. Similar in content to the truncated festival staged some sixteen years ago by Frederic Franklin, Orr's adaptation precedes a standard grand adagio with a sparkling "friends of" dance, plus two traditional holdovers--an acceptable Aurora and a pale imitation of Prayer that is several arabesques penchees shy of viability.

The transplanted mazurka buoyantly inaugurates the celebration, providing a musical bridge linking the prelude to the finale. Based on traditional mazurka steps, this happily presented ensemble dance for twelve follows diagonal and circular patterning, but reaches its apex with a rotating circle that seats the women on their partners' clasped wrists. The featured lies were given appropriate crispness by lead couple Erin Halloran and Terence Marling. He and alternate Steven Annegarn both delivered the succeeding grandes pirouettes with accuracy and brig.

Orr reinstated the "Heroic" divertissement as an Act I "Franz and Friends" variation. This challenging study in batterie and air turns for six demanded soloist capabilities, subordinated to ensemble delivery. The technique was there, but the timing fluctuated.

Principals Jiabin Pan and Willy Shives, both talented comedians, technical virtuosos, and reliable partners, alternated as Franz. Pan drew on instinctive mime skills. Shives played on his nonchalant charm.

Pan soared through the technical feats, accenting grands jetes with extra thrusts. His superb series of four tours en l'air (right and left) highlighted the czardas. Shives attacked the grandes pirouettes and tours de reins with facility and control, exemplified by precise finishes.

As Swanilda, principal Ying Li, an articulate actress and technician, offered a playful characterization, punctuated by agile footwork. When she was partnered by Pan, their impeccable grand adagio showcased her unrivaled balances. Mabel Modrono, the boldest Swanilda, displayed clean lines, crisp pointes, and saucy solos (particularly a rose-in-the-teeth bolero). Pert Maribel Modrono received sound support from Shives and capably breezed through her variations, executing effortless double fouettes in a coda.

Orr succeeded in evincing compassion for the gruff Coppelius via a masterly characterization wrought of comic aptitude, definitive mime, and showmanship. Despite obsessive-compulsive dementia, Orr's Coppelius displayed fragmented muscle memory in graceful attitude "page" turns and shadowy arabesques that added poignancy and visual punctuation. David Holladays crotchety Coppelius--more purposeful, less balletic--was an equally witty gem.

RELATED ARTICLE: NAT'L VIEW

A medium is both a substance that facilitates transmission and a person channeled to the spiritual world. According to choreographer Mark Morris, these definitions also apply to Medium, which the Mark Morris Dance Group premiered at Pittsburgh's Byham Theatre (February 13-15, 1998).

Commissioned by the Pittsburgh Dance Council, the eighteen-minute modern ballet draws impetus from composer John Harbison's musical commemoration of Franz Schubert's death. Via recurring phrases and upper-body gestures, Morris has fashioned a fluid, evocative dance for a diaphanously clad sextet. Initially, a posed, single-file line juxtaposes a prone trio that leads the motion. The unison sway of their uplifted arms heralds an ongoing shift of focus between alternating groups. Memorable is a breezy female duet, characterized by low, sissonne-like jumps and quick footwork. As they continuously travel a diagonal line, other pairs dart on and off the stage, producing a skillfully crafted contrast of timing and patterning. The work hauntingly concludes as a woman sinks floorward and a man crouches above her.

The balanced program included One Charming Night, in which Morris chillingly transformed the ungainly into the ungodly; Grand Duo, impressive in its powerful unison execution; and the densely choreographed I Don't want to Love.