Herman Cornejo in Seven Sonatas. Photo by Rosalie O'Connor.

American Ballet Theatre brought a robust mixed repertory program to Dallas that showcased its many strengths in weekend performances presented by TITAS.

This was third time in 30 years the world-class company has visited North Texas, where they played to a mostly filled Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center on Friday and Saturday. The company showcased a few selections of its contemporary repertoire by some of the leading choreographers of our time.

Alexei Ratmansky’s beautifully airy Seven Sonatas was created for the company in 2009. It’s set to Scarlatti’s piano sonatas which Barbara Bilach played seamlessly seated onstage at the piano.  The 33-minute piece for three couples is fluid and full of elegant steps and partnering. Breezy white dresses by Holly Hynes worn by the women help set the mood. The piece balances nicely with some dramatic pull, bravura lifts and jumps and playful touches reflective of Ratmansky’s style. The work becomes so engaging, especially seated close to the front, that at some point you no longer notice the piano onstage.

Perhaps the most riveting was Merce Cunningham’s Duets (1980), a hypnotic study of balance and form set to John Cage’s percolating, rhythmic score. Six couples dressed in bright solids bend and pose, slowly balance and shift their weight into sculptural shapes.  An unhurried grand plié by Julie Kent with her partner Jared Matthews becomes an idea to consider.  This is the sole Cunningham work in ABT’s immense collection, and touring it to places outside of New York, just weeks after the Cunningham Dance Company gave its final performance, underscores the importance of keeping this modern master’s works alive. After Cunningham’s 2009 death, his company embarked on a two-year tour which culminated last month in a New Year’s Eve performance in New York City before it closed.

Paloma Herrera and Eric Tamm in Duets. Photo by Gene Schiavone.

Paloma Herrera brought eloquence and authority to Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, with Cory Stearns on Friday in the only classical piece. Xiomara Reyes and her longtime dance partner Herman Cornejo, however, left a more memorable impression in Saturday’s show. Reyes’s expressiveness and pure gusto matched beautifully with Cornejo’s mastery, giant double cabrioles and thrilling spins. Tchaikovsky’s music for the 10-minute piece was originally part of his Swan Lake for the Bolshoi Ballet but was cut. Years later after it was discovered, Balanchine used the music to create this gem in 1960 which has been danced for generations by every major ballet company in the world and at galas.

In Company B, Paul Taylor’s feel-good, post World War II era suite of dances are fueled by its catchy Andrews Sisters compilation. ABT dancers smartly showed the verve and the lows Taylor expresses of wartime loss.  Aaron Scott was strong in Tico-Tico, while Simone Messmer in There Will Never Be Another You with Grant DeLong aptly captured the despair. Sascha Radetsky brought a high-energy, stylized cool to Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.  Though audiences here have seen Company B performed by the Paul Taylor Dance Company in recent years, ABT left its own impression of how good contemporary dance can be.