The young George Balanchine received his formative training in classical dance at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg. Once in the West, he began to evolve both the Old World technique and its performance style to suit a New World energy, speed, and immediacy. A new classical style was born. Because of this relationship—and divide—it’s always interesting to see the Mariinsky take on Balanchine. The leggy, radiant, Botticelli-esque A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1962), Balanchine’s first completely original full-length ballet, should be a good fit. —L.J.