"Hold on to your hat you're in for a wild ride," warned Malcolm Burn, Richmond Ballet's ballet master and artistic associate, by way of greeting as I headed to my seat for Studio 3.

Last month's New Works Festival was an eclectic collection of six works by seven choreographers, but Studio 3, the season's last production, achieved a high level of diversity, from classical to contemporary, from airborne to earthbound, with just two works.

"Mozartiana" is one of George Balanchine's last dances, created just two years before his death in 1983, and it's considered by some to be his final masterpiece.

Set to Tchaikovsky's musical tribute to Mozart, "Mozartiana" embodies many of Balanchine's core principles, such as the use of distinguished music, simple costumes and décor, the absence of plot and the primacy of the choreography.

The black tutus are formal without being severe -- although the white trim on Christopher Nachtrab's shirt looked liked a recycled maid's uniform -- and the pas de deux ends with a tender lean rather than the more traditional and expected lift.

The work's four sections range from an elegant, classical prayer to a lively jig, or gigue, to the celebratory finale for the entire cast.

Anne Sidney Davenport is a beautiful ballerina, with airy, uplifted arms and whispery bourrées. She is surrounded by four students from the School of Richmond Ballet, a fitting tribute as she began her studies there and has chosen to make "Mozartiana" her last stage appearance.

On opening night Tuesday, Nachtrab was the sprightly, comedic gigue dancer, while Igor Antonov partnered Davenport for the elegant pas de deux, "Thème et Variations."

"Mozartiana" was staged by the company's new ballet master, Jerry Kumery, who danced in the "Menuet" section of the original cast in 1981.

An entirely different mood and style of dancing welcomed the audience after intermission.

The world premiere of Mauricio Wainrot's contemporary "Voyages" introduced a fast-paced, earthy collection of seven small dances set to a variety of ethnic and folkloric music from Mongolian throat singing -- a sort of deep, gurgling humming -- to traditional Bulgarian folk music and Indian wedding music.

Eight men, initially dressed in briefs and later in loose-fitting, earth-toned pants and shirts, perform energetic, athletic movements including walkovers and one-armed handstands that are reminiscent of Robert North's 1974 jock ballet, "Troy Game."

The women dance with unaccustomed abandon: A solo for Lauren Fagone is athletic and earthy, while Dana? Carter's duet with Kirk Henning includes extraordinary and precarious couplings that border on the erotic.

The largest ensemble section is for five couples whose loose and casual clothing, hair, movement and music summon images of immigrants at the turn of the 20th century and incorporate vestiges of folk dancing.

At first glance, it seems improbable that all this movement, this juxtaposition of order and chaos, could emerge from the unassuming Wainrot, who divides his time between his home in Argentina and simultaneous projects in Europe and the United States.

But first impressions can be deceiving. In his pre-show video and after the performance, Wainrot said he really enjoys what he does -- and gets paid for playing.

The dancers -- who learned this exhausting work in little more than a week of rehearsal -- would agree. They really enjoyed the challenge of "Voyages," and it showed.