For this London season, the company's first visit to Sadler's Wells, the Mariinsky Ballet (formerly known as the Kirov) is presenting itself in a different, less familiar guise. Gone are the comforting 19th-century blockbusters and in their place are works by George Balanchine and William Forsythe, two choreographers who redefined the parameters of classical ballet in the 20th century.

This isn't the first time we have seen the Russians in these ballets. Three years ago they presented an all-Forsythe bill at the Royal Opera House, and audiences were stunned by the sizzle and daring of their performances. Perhaps inevitably, the thrill of seeing the Mariinsky dance Forsythe was gone from the opening night of this 2008 season, possibly because dancing Forsythe is no longer the badge of rebellion in St Petersburg that it once was. Instead, the focus was on what the Mariinsky maestro Valery Gergiev calls the company's “A-Team of young stars”.

You could argue that an all-Forsythe evening doesn't need big names, as his sleek, plotless, cutting-edge ballets speak for themselves. But, one or two notable exceptions aside, the lack of firepower in the casting was a drawback in this evening of mixed blessings.

Steptext, a quartet, sets out Forsythe's stall. Here is the essence of his drastic style: the provocative blend of nonchalance and intense commitment in the moves; the impatience with the strict rules of classical technique; the annoying eccentricity in presentation (switching lights on and off, playing games with Bach). Igor Kolb brought muscular grace to his dancing, while Ekaterina Kondaurova brought assertive glamour to hers. But overall, performances needed more reckless abandon.

Approximate Sonata is too weird for these dancers, with its disobedient limbs and self- important musings on the process of creation. Its four duets are fairly colourless, and the dancers, apart from Anastasia Petushkova and Anton Pimonov, didn't do much to distinguish them. The Mariinsky was far more at home in The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude (an exuberant classical quintet set to Schubert). This is how they normally like to dance - only it's twice as fast.

In the middle, somewhat elevated really opens up their refined Russian technique and they worked hard to embrace Forsythe's zest for off-kilter dynamism and competitive rivalry, undaunted by the clangorous attack of Thom Willems's score. Irina Golub and Mikhail Lobukhin went for it in the sexy pas de deux, while Kondaurova smouldered fiercely, which seems to be her trademark expression, and Olesya Novikova sparkled prettily despite the ferocity of Forsythe's writing. Tonight, it's Balanchine's turn in the spotlight.

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