Swan Lake.

Acknowledging the past twenty-five years while at the same time stepping forward, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre dusted off its 1984 production of Swan Lake (the ballet itself a repertoire staple since 1970), added costumes by Peter Farmer, and strengthened its roster with nine new dancers and several promotions.

Act I's pleasantries were genially executed by tastefully attired peasants. The elegant costumes' neutral palette compounds the aristocratic ambience of this refined picnic, which predicts Act Ill's courtly sophistication.

Recently promoted principal Willy Shives and new company member Jiabin Pan alternated as the jester, whose awesome acrobatics and humorous interjections enliven the picnic and ballroom scenes. A superb jumper, the muscular Shives, who is gifted with elasticity, clarity, secure technique, and acting skills, dominated the stage, while Pan, lithe and quick, danced with confidence, aplomb, and comic aptitude. Flawed corps work such as unstable arabesques penchees, misaligned head poses, and excessively splayed fingers with jutting thumbs, marred the white acts.

Veteran Laura Desiree's Odette was a bird-woman--skittish, fragile, captured. Drawing on substantial technical resources, her well-coached interpretation stressed vulnerability with strategically placed, effective nuances. Her Odile, however, was unconvincing dramatically.

Debuting principal Nanci Crowley's Odette was a woman-bird--startled, queenly, captive. Her inherent womanliness enhanced the poignancy of the Act IV adagio. Dramatically conscious, Crowley was an artful Odile. Despite footwork mishaps, her debut was commendable.

Adequate technicians both, principal Steven Annegarn (a boyish Siegfried) and soloist Kip Sturm tenderly supported their swans (Desiree and Crowley, respectively). With Sturm, Crowley's performance achieved a spontaneity absent when she danced with soloist Stanko Milov. Yet Sturm's Siegfried appeared perplexed by Odile's coquetry. Only Milov's carefully developed characterization--aristocratic, romantic, ardent, repentant--endured four acts. A competent but sometimes conspicuous partner, Milov displayed efficient pirouettes, a buoyant jump, and controlled finishes. Notably, his tours en I'air ended with clean fifth positions (which Annegarn and Sturm lacked).

Act IV doesn't tread water. No suicides, no good-evil combat, no macho heroics; instead, at the storm's climax, the lovers embrace and flee. Von Rothbart implodes, is shunned, and is discarded by the swans, finally collapsing lakeside, a la Hilarion. Siegfried, a classic dupe, in this case is also a chicken.