Few names in ballet carry the international stature of Stanton Welch. The son of two celebrated stars of The Australian Ballet, he has created works for major companies around the globe and has led Houston Ballet, one of the largest ballet companies in the United States, since 2003. During that tenure he has choreographed more than 40 new works for Houston alone. Presenting a Welch ballet in Sacramento is a genuine coup and a clear signal of the caliber this company now commands.

Welch created Long and Winding Road in 2001 for student dancers at the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College, SUNY, performing alongside members of American Ballet Theatre's Studio Company. For music, he turned to Beatles Go Baroque, an album on which composer Peter Breiner recast Lennon and McCartney favorites in the elegant manner of Bach and Vivaldi.

Onstage, the fun lies in the surprises. Brisk parades give way to serene glides. Groups rush in and out while soloists hold their ground. A trio for two men and a woman dissolves into one for two women and a man, and then, without a breath, six dancers reassemble as three couples. Underneath all that playfulness lies impeccable classical craftsmanship, and melodies you already love, heard as if for the first time.