These contrasts of style are vital, and not easy. The Bolshoi performed the ballet for the first time last year, and until the dancers get to “Diamonds,” they mostly look as if they are not quite sure why they are onstage. “Emeralds,” soft-contoured and slow-paced, with its evocation of woodland glades, Degas ballet girls, nymphs and sylphides, is an Impressionist ode, an idea of Frenchness. Only the tall and striking Ekaterina Shipulina, in the second ballerina role, had the upper-body luxuriance and fleet elegance that conveyed something of its mood and mystery; the other principals, Anastasia Stashkevich and Dmitri Gudanov, offered decorative charm, pristine technique and lots of facial expressions, with little sense of connection to each other or to their larger onstage world.

“Rubies” fared worse, since not one of its three leading dancers consistently captured its exuberance, wit and sense of fun. Andrei Merkuriev, in the leader-of-the-pack role that Balanchine created for the athletic, rambunctious Edward Villella, made the bravest stab. Mr. Merkuriev doesn’t have beautiful feet or a sterling classical line, but he had an intermittently feisty attack and capacity for speed that at least raised the temperature a little. His partner, Kristina Kretova, started out timorously but gained confidence as the ballet unfolded; by the end she was showing signs of what she might be able to do in this role.

Most problematic was Yulia Grebenshchikova in the second ballerina role. Tall and statuesque, she looks perfect for the sexy showiness of the role — and perhaps she could be. But she was notably tentative throughout and, like the ensemble, seemed to have little feel for the jazziness that feeds both the music and the movement. The dancers thrust their hips and angle their shoulders dutifully, but never as if it’s a dynamic, through-the-body physical response to rhythm.

“Rubies” asks for real, sexual men and women onstage. Both corps de ballet and soloists looked a great deal more comfortable in the familiar grand ballet world of “Diamonds,” led with unconquerable authority by Ms. Smirnova and Mr. Chudin, a fine dancer and careful, chivalrous partner. Alyona Pikalova’s mostly dull décor for “Jewels” had the “Diamonds” section set against a star-sprinkled sky. Ms. Smirnova shone brightest of all.