The marvel of Mariinsky

The Mariinsky Ballet will present two programmes at Sadler's Wells in October 2008. The first comprises four works by William Forsythe, the great 20th-century choreographer. The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude is a lighthearted glance at ballet's history, set to Schubert Photograph: PR

Steptext, a quartet set to music by Bach, plays with theatrical convention and expectation. At times, the stage lights cut out, confounding the audience Photograph: PR

Igor Kolb and Ekaterina Kondaurova in Steptext at Sadler's Wells. Judith Mackrell, in her Guardian review, praises Kondaurova's 'extravagantly supple dancing' Photograph: Tristram Kenton/Guardian

A third Forsythe work is In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, which pits nine dancers against one another, amplifying Forsythe's own experience of the Paris Opera corps de ballet Photograph: PR

Ksenia Dubrovina in Approximate Sonata at Sadler's Wells, another Forsythe work, which Mackrell found 'patchily danced' Photograph: Tristram Kenton/Guardian

The second Mariinsky programme is of works by George Balanchine. The Prodigal Son sets the Bible story to music by Prokofiev. Here, a siren tempts the wayward youth Photograph: PR

Apollo is set to music by Stravinsky and tells the story of the god's youth, from tearaway boy to potent deity Photograph: PR

Apollo is nurtured and taught by three muses, Terpsichore, Polyhimnia and Calliope. The Mariinsky (Kirov) Ballet are at Sadler's Wells from October 13-16 2008 Photograph: PR