Ms. Maxwell calls the troupe's acquisition of "Dark Elegies" a dream come true.

The muted, somber "Dark Elegies" draws on a completely different side of the dancers.

In its quiet expression of formal sorrow, it is a "Dark Elegies" for the 21st century.

A rural community grieves over lost children in "Dark Elegies" (1937).

"Dark Elegies" now unfolds in the luminous airy open space of the contempory dance stage.

"Dark Elegies" is totally plotless yet emotionally rich.

Last year, some performances of "Dark Elegies" were hesitant.

No other ballet quite resembles "Dark Elegies."

A few seasons back, Ballet Theater's dancers were too classical in "Dark Elegies."

As a single work, "Dark Elegy" depends too much on a histrionic gesture of loss to convey any deep feeling.