Insufficient magnificence

George Balanchine choreographed ballets for some of the greatest international stars but also for unknowns who suddenly looked like stars when he exalted and extended the best/deepest/most individual dancing they could offer.

Camouflaging limitations became part of the process, which may be why recasting these vehicles can prove so problematic -- and why New York City Ballet’s all-Balanchine bill at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Wednesday offered magnificence and insufficiency in equal measure.

The corps dancing proved especially unreliable, one reason why the corpsless, small-scale “Agon” proved the most satisfying performance on the three-part program. A series of short, experimental maneuvers in which Balanchine and composer Igor Stravinsky linked the past and future of their arts, it looked like the epitome of intimidating neoclassicism when it was new in 1957. But to anyone who saw the high-density neo-neoclassicism of William Forsythe’s “Second Detail” danced by Lyon Opera Ballet last weekend at UCLA, “Agon” seemed almost restful, its pristine clarity gleaming in fine performances by Sofiane Sylve, Sebastien Marcovici and others.

In the fearsome pas de deux, Wendy Whelan and Jock Soto tried for something meditative -- a sense of metaphysical communion, perhaps -- that added new colors to Balanchine’s unprecedented display of wrapping or folding or melting a woman’s body around a man’s throughout a supported adagio.

Their interpretive self-assertion is exactly what’s needed when new dancers inherit a classic -- and exactly what was missing from most of the undercast principals in that now legendary applause machine from 1947, “Symphony in C.” Harnessing the dynamism of an early Bizet showpiece, Balanchine created a plotless symphonic abstraction with four sets of leads -- most of whom looked like nonentities Wednesday even when they found the work’s technical demands congenial.

Maria Kowroski stood out from the pack with a flowing, majestic performance in the second movement, though her partnership with Charles Askegard didn’t always go smoothly. Megan Fairchild and Benjamin Millepied danced flawlessly in the third movement but not quite on top of the music, not as the revelation of its brilliance. Partnered by Jared Angle, the technically uneven Janie Taylor sank without a trace in the first movement.

The cast insert sheet listed Carrie Lee Riggins and Arch Higgins for the fourth movement, but the corps swallowed them up almost immediately and they left no afterimage. Still, the ballet pulled everyone to glory -- that’s how it’s made.

Set to reorchestrated Gershwin, “Who Cares?” (1970) might appear to be familiar Balanchine to local audiences -- but we seldom see all of it. Small touring groups and some resident companies usually present only the final half (one man and three women), omitting the splashy ensemble sequences at the beginning.

With their showgirl stances and chorus-boy verve, these ensembles create the illusion of musical comedy dancing but with an emphasis on beaten steps, or batterie, and other balletic hallmarks that you’d never find in a Broadway vocabulary.

By the time the four principals take over, the transformation is complete: Balanchine has gilded the Great White Way, so that the solos and duets he presents are simultaneously popular and classical.

More than anyone else, Jenifer Ringer belonged in the two worlds of this ballet, moving sumptuously through “The Man I Love” and letting its bluesy mood seep into her steps. As always, Alexandra Ansanelli delivered perfect technique, but she often seemed to be dancing to counts, not music.

Ashley Bouder looked fabulous in the title duet, with the tiniest flicks carrying her whole body into entirely new positions -- and with effortless backbend-jumps in which she nearly kicked herself in the head. As for Nilas Martins, his partnering prowess compensated for undistinguished and curiously tired solo dancing.

Andrea Quinn conducted “Who Cares?,” which sounded soupy, and “Symphony in C,” passably scintillating. Paul Mann took over for “Agon,” enforcing cohesion from the company orchestra after a dangerously sprawling start. This program will repeat tonight with different principals.

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New York City Ballet

Where: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles

When: 7:30 tonight, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday

Price: $25 to $95

Contact: (213) 365-3500 or (714) 740-7878