The numbers for the corpsdeballet, be they animals in a race, flowers in a waltz or playing cards in a melee, suggest more artful carrying on than momentous high points.
But there was always something a bit fey about Mr Knievel, even in the 1970s, when long hair and tight crotches made every young man look like a member of a corpsdeballet.
The new works chosen by Mr. Martins included two by former NYCB resident-choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and one by company corps-de-ballet dancer Justin Peck.
And even in the frenetic string of fairy solos in "The Sleeping Beauty, " statuesque and lovely corps-de-ballet-ranked Lydia Wellington made indelible impressions with her sure dancing.