Performer: American Ballet Theatre

It’s only her third performance of role, and her New York debut, but it was so polished that Brandt immediately jumped to our writer's personal short-list of great Giselles.

A mixed evening at the Koch Theater, with ABT shining in Ratmansky and a new Twyla Tharp creation, but struggling in Balanchine. 

If the audience response was not very enthusiastic, it's because Ratmansky's Sleeping Beauty four years after its premiere still comes across as more of a museum piece than a living, breathing ballet. This is a Beauty that never really wakes up.

Kevin McKenzie's production of Swan Lake at ABT usually has little to commend it, but Christine Shevchenko's Odette/Odile is the real deal. 

Perhaps ABT's disclaimer in the program notes should have simply said: "When you watch Le Corsaire, prepare to be both offended and entertained. We hope you'll be more entertained than offended."