Joffrey sparkles with Tudor tribute

Dance was British-born choreographer Antony Tudor’s primary means of expression. But in many ways he also was a playwright — an artist with an astonishing gift for delineating his characters’ inner lives and for spinning plots driven by psychological quandaries.

Tudor’s ability to codify emotion by means of a highly original movement language is brilliantly showcased in the Joffrey Ballet’s triple bill, “Antony Tudor Centennial.” The program, which opened Wednesday at the Auditorium Theatre, is comprised of a burst of suppression-infused romance (“Lilac Garden”), a searing rite of mourning (“Dark Elegies”) and a frothy explosion of fun and flirtation (“Offenbach in the Underworld”).

This celebration of the 100th anniversary of Tudor’s birth also captures the essence of the Joffrey troupe’s luster. For each dancer is individualistic in terms of size, style and temperament yet can conform to Tudor’s truths.

“Lilac Garden,” set to Chausson’s violin-driven “Poeme,” is like an E.M. Forster novel, with two thwarted Edwardian-era couples guiltily stealing forbidden moments. Caroline (Maia Wilkins, who all but faints into every move) is a feverishly unhappy bride-to-be who aches for her lover (a sublime Willy Shives), though she must wed a coldly elegant groom (bristling Brian McSween) who, in turn, is chased by a past love (the formidable Valerie Robin). Meanwhile, the wedding party guests blithely waltz on.

“Dark Elegies,” the undisputed masterpiece here, is simply breathtaking — a work that leaves you too awestruck to applaud. Set to Mahler’s “Kindertotenlieder” (“Songs on the Death of Children”) and beautifully sung by Stephen Salters, it was performed with a touch of genius by its cast of 12. Especially stunning were John Gluckman, masterful in his lyricism, and Derrick Agnoletti, dancing on a razor’s edge.

“Offenbach in the Underworld” is an operetta with a large cast of comic “types,” a grand Art Nouveau set, color-drenched costumes and a knock-down drag-out cancan climax that sets the audience clapping. Everyone in this Parisian farce of fickle lovers sparkles, with Victoria Jaiani, Kathleen Thielhelm, Fabrice Calmels, Calvin Kitten, Tian Shuai, Jennifer Goodman and Anastacia Holden pure champagne.