It’s unlikely any other company in the world – with the possible exception of The Royal Ballet itself – could have mounted or so authentically performed the program with which The Sarasota Ballet concluded its season this weekend at the Sarasota Opera House.

Three historic British ballets rarely, if ever, seen in America – one of which would not even exist were it not for the efforts of Director Iain Webb and Assistant Director Margaret Barbieri to revive it – made for an impressive finale that was rooted in the past, but showcased the promising future of a company now in a rebuilding phase as many of the dancers Webb brought in retire or move on.

“Foundations of Royalty,” which included Sir Frederick Ashton’s “Birthday Offering” from 1956, Dame Ninette de Valois’ “Checkmate” from 1937 and Sir Peter Wright’s “Summertide” from 1976, might more accurately have been titled “Foundations of The Royal.” All three ballets were created for either England’s Vic-Wells Royal or its touring counterpart, the Sadlers Wells Royal, where both Webb and Barbieri, spent their performing careers. As Webb heads into his 20^th anniversary season at the helm, the program served both as a nod to his own foundation and beloved mentors, as well as a tribute to Barbieri, who staged all three pieces with accuracy and artistry.

The company most recently performed “Birthday Offering” – which Ashton created as a tribute to de Valois for Sadlers Wells’ 25^th anniversary – at Jacob’s Pillow last summer, not long after its prima principal, Macarena Gimenez, had departed to join the Miami City Ballet and several other top dancers had also moved on. Even with resident guest artist Misa Kuranaga of The San Francisco Ballet retained to dance the prima role created for Margot Fonteyn and several proficient corps members taking on the other six female soloist roles, in July it lacked the individuality of artistic expression and the grandiosity of its roots in the grand Imperial  Russian style that are required to make it sparkle.

At Friday’s opening night,  it looked like a different piece all together. The soloists, who had appeared tentative last summer, now took ownership of their moments in the spotlight, exhibiting a greater confidence and familiarity. Kennedy Falyn Cassada managed the fleet footwork and successive turns in opposite directions of the role originated by Elaine Fifield with facility and an air of effervescence. Pasha Levy, dancing the Nadia Nerina solo, was a swift bundle of energy who nevertheless hit her abrupt final pose in arabesque without a quiver. Gabriella Schultze and, especially Iku Okura, gave the adagio solos created for Svetlana Beriosova and Violetta Elvin respectively, an expansive softness, and Marijana Dominis captured the charm and musicality of the sixth variation, for which Ashton chose a descending arpeggio that he said reminded him of ballerina Beryl Grey’s laugh.

Likewise, Kuranaga used the Alexander Glazunov score (beautifully rendered by the Sarasota Orchestra under the baton of Ormsby Wilkins) to her advantage, with a musicality that made even the fastest footwork seem effortless. Her pas de deux with Ricardo Rhodes had an unhurried ease, their partnership, which last summer seemed tentative and tenuous, now evidenced a more satisfying trust and connection.  

The dramatic storytelling of “Checkmate,” for which de Valois chose a turgid score by Arthur Bliss, begins with two figures representing Love (principal dancer Jessica Assef, recovering from an injury and almost unrecognizable in a curly-haired wig) and Death (the ballet’s Education Director Christopher Hird) seated on either side of a chessboard, a foreshadowing of the battle to come.

Against a backdrop of geometric shapes and lines in colors that replicate both the dominant black and red of a chess board and the dancers’ costumes (designs by E. McKnight Kauffer), an army of  soldiers – castles, bishops and pawns – in red march in precision on pointe, their stiff arms accentuating a militaristic theme. They are soon enmeshed in battle with a similar infantry in black and gray, led by Sierra Abelardo as the Black Queen, who uses her wiles to entice the Red Knight (danced by Abelardo’s off-stage partner, Samuel Gest).

This back and forth challenge and retreat, which matches the moves of a game of chess, plays out as the doddering, elderly Red King (Ricki Bertoni in another memorable character role), escorted by a spritely and much younger Red Queen (Dominique Jenkins) watch the proceedings with increasing agitation, while seated on a throne.

Needless to say, this ultimately leads to a confrontation between the Black Queen and the Red Knight in which he proves too bewitched by her sinister spell to follow through on the opportunity to vanquish her. She, on the other hand, has no such hesitation, polishing him off, then wiping her hand along her sword in satisfaction and scraping his own sword against hers like someone sharpening knives for a steak dinner. Ultimately, she polishes off the Red King, too, for good measure.

Abelardo has the technical rigor to do almost any role – I especially enjoyed seeing her last summer in a featured role in Jessica Lang’s abstract “The Lorenz Butterfly” – but to date has not shown an on stage personna powerful or distinctive enough to fulfill the necessary presence for the Black Queen. (You need to feel both repulsion for her evil cruelty and admiration for her steeliness.) So, it was particularly welcome to see her take ownership of this role with a predatory, haughty confidence projected in her every nose-touching, grand battement marching kick.

“Summertide,” the final piece on the program was a stark contrast. The abstract ballet is all lightness and ethereality as its three movements follow the course of a summer’s day, from the energy and promise of a brisk morning, through the softness of a still afternoon, to the evening’s intoxicating culmination. The dancers, dressed in unitards in mottled shades of pale blue or rose that give the impression of leaves in motion (design by Dick Bird), embrace the spirit of Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and the pure dance of Wright’s choreography with alacrity and elegance.

That the company was able to perform this piece at all is due to a fortunate discovery by Doug Nicholson of the Birmingham Royal Ballet who, more than a decade ago, unearthed a film and partial notation of the ballet, which had fallen out of The Royal’s repertory and was considered lost. In collaboration with Wright, who will celebrate his 100^th birthday this November, Webb and Barbieri were able to recreate the ballet and first premiered it in 2015.

The first movement is a whirlwind, dancers leaping and running across the stage like a gust of refreshing morning air. Levy, partnered by Gus Payne, and Okura, with Jordan Micallef, embrace the rapid flow with fluidity and finesse, as Rhodes, Ze Ellis and Jonah Glickman provide a powerful through line.

But it is the second movement, with a piano solo played by Emily Wong and with Dominis partnered by three men at once (Rhodes, Simon Plante and Nathan Smith) that is the most impressionistic and enduring. As the light changes to the softness of an afternoon’s siesta, so does the speed of the movement diminish. The beauty of the dancers’ lines is accentuated in every lift and Dominis, whose body is perfectly built for ballet, is the gem that sparkles in every pose of the pas de quatre.

If the piece had ended right then and there I would have been satisfied, but as night follows the day, it would have been incomplete without the final movement, set against a night sky with giant baubles representing the stars. The two couples from the first movement return, joined by two additional women (Brooke Wilson and Willa Frantz) and Dominis reappears with her partners. Rhodes again adds a touch of virtuosity, with several double turns in the air landing on one foot in arabesque to bring us to a satisfying conclusion.

The entire program was evidence of the effort and meticulous care Webb takes in reproducing the historical works that are his passion, if not obsession. But none of this would be possible without the knowledge and experience of Barbieri, who not only performed in these ballets herself, but spent countless hours in rehearsal halls and dressing rooms with their originators, absorbing a depth of understanding that won’t be possible for future generations. That she is passing on everything she can to the young dancers of The Sarasota Ballet is a gift they may not fully appreciate for many years to come.

‘Foundations of Royalty’ is presented through May 2 at the Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. Tickets are $35-$125. sarasotaballet.org; 941-359-0099