"The Age of Innocence," Liang, a New York-based dancer who quickly has morphed into a galvanic choreographic talent, has captured the internal and external frenzy of male-female relationships in a world that feels at once modern and historical. He has imagined a formal if somewhat abstracted ballroom into which columns of eight men and eight women rush with all the expectation of the still innocent.

A stately reel is danced, but Liang has deconstructed it so that the inner chaos, terror and expectation of what might unfold becomes palpable. A tense, angular "First Dialogue" (formidably danced by Megan Quiroz and Thomas Nicholas) is followed by an almost primal rite for four men (sensational work by Derrick Agnoletti, Raul Casasola, Aaron Rogers and Mauro Villanueva) and by a highly original, demonically difficult duet, "Obey Thee" (featuring the thrilling partnership of Victoria Jaiani and Fabrice Calmels, who danced as if they'd been infused with divine fire). Ultimately, the mating game finds its rich and varied resolutions in this thrilling, emotionally incendiary piece that merits a permanent place in the Joffrey repertoire.

Robbins' "In the Night" -- a series of three pas de deux (with pianist Paul James Lewis supplying the gorgeous Chopin accompaniment) -- gives us three temperamentally different couples of varying experience. It is a breathtaking work. And the three couples here were marvels, from the delicate beauty of Emily Patterson and the innately elegant Temur Suluashvili, to the rigorous but sexy formality of Kathleen Thielhelm and Jonathan Dummar, to the rash, passionate flamboyance of Jaiani and Calmels, who danced with heart-stopping brilliance.

"Postcards" (with the lush-voiced Tracy Watson singing songs of Erik Satie) captures the romance and energy of early 20th century Paris, with a whimsical collage backdrop by Herbert Migdoll. The female dancers floated like wind-blown soap bubbles.