On the anniversary of the Ballets Russes’ centennial, this latest tome, edited by Alston Purvis, Peter Rand and Anna Winestein, is a collection of essays, peppered with images: of Nijinksy and his enormous thighs bulging like ham hocks; of Henri Matisse’s delicate silk satin kimono hand painted with flowers; of trompe l’oeil costumes by de Chirico appliquéd with building parts; of exquisite backcloths and Meisen ballerinas: of posters by Cocteau and souvenir programs by Picasso. There are wonderful photographs of Anna Pavlova and the other principal dancers, chubby by contemporary standards, but stunning all the same.

Sarah Lamb, who danced the heroine Aurora on opening night, has recently returned after a long injury. Her dancing is as fine as ever. An elegant blonde, Lamb has everything the role needs: pure classical line, a light, high jump and strong, beautifully arched feet. In the Rose Adagio, her balances are clear and steady, while she has an airy lightness in the vision scene.

Yet Lamb remains a remote princess. Her Aurora doesn't overflow with joy at her birthday party, or rush into her prince's arms. She's best in the celebrations of the last act, where her cool authority becomes regal grandeur.

It is the diagonal movements you notice with Lamb, the way her arms, legs and feet shape perfect lines. With Alina Cojacuru, the next Aurora, it is how she fills the music, making Tchaikovsky's score (gorgeously conducted by Valeriy Ovskyanikov) seem to linger to do her bidding.

Cojacuru is the perfect Aurora. Her tiny size helps – she looks every inch a 16-year-old launching herself on the world. But it is the detail of her dancing combined with an extraordinary technique that enable her to make such an impact. The balances of her Rose Adagio were so sustained that you felt she barely needed her four courtier Princes to assist her. Yet she danced with them too, showing off, weighing them up as potential mates. She holds her head and arms so gracefully, and with tiny inclinations of movement she creates huge emotions.

“Sleepy Hollow” is the first full-length ballet the company has produced with an outside choreographer in more than 20 years. Alan Hineline’s adaptation was originally produced for the Ballet Theatre of Central Pennsylvania and has since been performed around the county before its Oklahoma City run.

“Alan Hineline is a gifted choreographer, and our talented and impassioned company of dancers will bring this beautiful and frightening classic to life on the stage in an extraordinary production,” Mills said. “Alan uses movement and dance very intelligently to tell the story without long moments of pantomime and dull action.”

Thomas was one of the stars of Twyla Tharp’s “Movin’ Out,” and he’s seemingly upped the ante here. The troupe struts its stuff to songs by U2, Queen, Prince, and of course, Michael Jackson. Might be wise to leave your critical faculties at home.

Balanchine's opener is a sexy and exhilarating document of its time that makes the best of Stravinsky's maenad-inducing tonic of the beautiful and bizarre. The dancers flit between a genderless neutrality in movement and costume, to moments of an almost incandescent hyper-sexuality that quickens the beating of the heart. There are moments of actual laughter and the solos are impressive as Balanchine navigates the politics of '60s sexuality with a childlike glee. Perhaps it's the difficulty of following the magic and fluidity of Rubies, but Workwithinawork begins to seem remarkably dull by comparison. The dancers' solo performances are often nothing short of inspired, but the drone of Luciano Berio's 'Duetti for two violins' begins to conspire with the piece's deliberately faltering character to annoy rather than innovate.

The best is saved for last, with Pastor's joyous In Light and Shadow. It begins with a solemn and ruminative duet over the aria from Bach's 'Goldberg Variations', marked by a show of extreme technical discipline from the leads, before the stage explodes with colour, light and the flamboyant melodies of the same composer's 'Suite No. 3'. Pastor describes his intention of making it about, “something being formal, then breaking into a very free expression of movement and music,” and he is entirely successful. Playful lighting tricks and a simple but effective backdrop combine with the performance to produce a jubilant expression of human experimentation and a joyful reflection on ballet's evolving tradition and influence.

City Ballet said the soloists Tyler Angle, Robert Fairchild, Tiler Peck, Amar Ramasar and Teresa Reichlen had been given the new rank of principal dancer; Kathryn Morgan, a member of the corps since 2007, was made a soloist.

Softly As I Leave You is a duet – set to Bach’s famous Air on the G String and Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel and Kyrie – specially choreographed for Drew Jacoby and Rubinald Pronk by Nederlands Dans Theater’s Paul Lightfoot and Sol León. Although purists may turn their noses up at the use of such well known – almost clichéd – music, if this means unseasoned dance-goers become more interested with these familiar melodies, then all the better, I say. An agitated and desperate Jacoby opens Softly… violently pushing and punching the walls of the box she is trapped in. Although there is a union for a time – Jacoby’s restricted, nervy movements are calmed by Pronk’s slow, gentle hyperextensions – she promptly leaves him without reciprocating his kiss, now his turn to experience the pain and frustration she had previously. The two dancers were divine, their expressions and movements capturing the painful yearning and pure joy, but the choreography did not seem to match up to their abilities.

In a former wool store in Kensington, we talk at a small table but Langley doesn't stay seated for long. She darts between rows of costumes that hang like glittering cocoons from the ceiling. Langley has a particular way of handling them. She extends one finger to hook the top of the hanger while her other arm bends like a bracket to gently present the garment.

Even though she's had the job since 1995, the challenges remain unpredictable: some days she will unpack an entire ballet consisting of hundreds of garments including shoes and headdresses, buckles, gloves, even facial hair. Each piece is examined carefully, repaired, sweat and make-up cleaned off, then the pieces are carefully packed up.