Two-thirds of Pacific Northwest Ballet's "All Balanchine" show is surprising and exciting. Showcasing three ballets spanning the career of George Balanchine, the leading American ballet choreographer of the 20th Century and famously the co-founder of the New York City Ballet, PNB manages to both remind audiences of how adventurous dance can be, while at the same time reinforcing the sense that major ballet companies have to carefully balance the experimental with the traditional in order to keep audiences coming.

"Square Dance," the first of the three ballets, was first performed in 1957 with the New York City Ballet as part of Balanchine's exploration of Americana. (The original production apparently actually featured a square dance caller.) The results are surprisingly entertaining; adding a touch of manic square dancing to traditional ballet pushed PNB's dancers to explore types of movement not typically associated with ballet, and principal male Jonathan Porretta rises spectacularly to the occasion in an extended solo part.

"Prodigal Son" is one of Balanchine's oldest works, choreographed when Balanchine was only 24 and the last work to be performed by the legendary dancer Serge Diaghilev before his death in 1929. With an original score by Sergei Prokofiev and scenic design by Georges Rouault, the piece is infused with Modernist experimentation. A narrative ballet telling the Biblical parable of the prodigal son who spurns his father, is taken advantage of and abandoned by his false friends, and then, left destitute, is eventually forgiven by his father, Balanchine adventurously included elements of vaudeville and the side-show into the work, the result being a surprisingly funny piece of dance.

The great joy of ballet, of course, is watching a dancer explore his or her body, an instrument as finely tuned and lovingly used (and, to be fair, abused) as a musical instrument. PNB soloist Lucien Postlewaite gave a strong and physically demanding performance, but what makes the show so entertaining is the male corps' turn as drunken revelers carousing with the prodigal son. By turns exploring mime and tumbling, they provide some brilliantly comic moments with their mechanical crabwalks and other unusual bits of choreography. The stand-out, though, was PNB principal Ariana Lallone as the Siren. The seductive strip-tease (positively demure by today's standards) is a phenomenal bit of dance.

The last show, "Ballet Imperial," originally from 1941, is the most conservative of the three and tends to pale in comparison. It's everything you expect from a ballet, with a couple score of dancers and tutus and tiaras as far as the eye can see. Principal dancer Batkhurel Bold was singularly impressive in the performance, but despite the formal brilliance of the piece, it simply wasn't as entertaining as its predecessors. Or, to put it in perspective, a twelve-year-old (or so) girl leaving the performance announced happily to her parents that it had been her favorite of the night, what with all the pretty ballerinas. That's not to say it wasn't sumptuous and lovely to look at, but having been surprised and entertained so much by the first two ballets, "Ballet Imperial" just felt like more of the same.

On a final note, be forewarned: "All Balanchine" runs long and feels longer, due (last night) to a slightly late start and two long intermissions, likely because of set and costume changes. We arrived in time for a seven-thirty curtain and didn't get out past ten, which included thirty or more minutes of intermission. It's worth the wait, but by the time the curtain rises for "Ballet Imperial" you might have gotten a little drowsy.

"All Balanchine" runs at Pacific Northwest Ballet through Sept. 30, Thurs. though Sat. at 7:30 and with a Sunday matinee at 1. Tickets available here.

Image: Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancer Ariana Lallone as the Siren and soloist Lucien Postlewaite as the Prodigal Son with company dancers in George Balanchine's "Prodigal Son." Photo by Angela Sterling, courtesy of PNB.