The Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre ended its season in top form at Shady Side Academy on Friday night. The concert was well worth a visit to the lush campus in Fox Chapel where the Hillman Center for the Performing Arts is a wonderful addition.

One would never know that this year, certainly the best in the company's history, was winding down. The evening of dance at the Richard E. Rauh Theater (with Rauh himself in attendance) may have been an encore presentation on paper -- George Balanchine's "Allegro Brillante," Lauri Stallings' "glint" and a trio of pas de deux had formed the program at the Byham Theater in February.

But these dancers have continued to grow exponentially. Balanchine's piece may have been the top of the crop at the Byham, and here, with Maribel Modrono and Christopher Rendall-Jackson confidently at the helm, it was still wonderful. Modrono, with her extensive background in Balanchine, was a delight with her phrasing.

But the pas de deux, always a weakness for PBT and where the dancers might have met the basic needs but not soared above the technical requirements, proved to be the highlight of the evening.

To give an example of the strength of this company, Christine Schwaner and Alexandre Silva, both corps dancers, performed "Le Corsaire."

The pair had a star quality about them, she with her uncommon ease, he with a brilliant set of revoltades and pirouettes a la seconde.

Kumiko Tsuji and Nurlan Abougaliev liberally and equally infused "Ave Maria," a duet about Adam and Eve's fall from Eden. Noted for former PBT principal Ying Li's interpretation, Tsuji's heart-stopping accents had a voice all their own. PBT principal Christopher Budzynski partnered his wife, corps dancer Alexandra Kochis, in the Russian bravura piece, "Spring Waters." Kochis, also a corps member, truly found her uncommonly gorgeous legs and a personality to boot.

The company's trademark clean lines were still there, but it was apparent that it has developed an exciting emotional overlay.

This was the stuff of which New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, America's top companies, are made: an unfailing superlative technique that stuns audiences with its beauty and athleticism. Above all, the purity and strength of PBT's technique can rival a number of regional companies with higher budgets, including Miami City Ballet and Pennsylvania Ballet.

Many of the other regional companies have high extensions born of an appealing flexibility. But they are gradually losing the centered strength that is the foundation of ballet. PBT has been what we might consider a throwback to the historical foundation of ballet -- always concerned about lines and less about the performance itself.

No longer.

Maybe that argument could be seen best in Stallings' "glint," which darted back and forth between the strictest of classical positions and the most inventive of contemporary choreography. Dare we say street dance-inspired?

Some of the ensemble sections are virtually impossible to perform in synchronicity, given the complexity of the rhythmic underpinnings, based on breath and timing, instead of B.E. Taylor's emotional songs.

Despite a slippery spot at the back of the stage, there were a number of treasurable moments: Budzynski and Gabe Smith in bounding solos, Kochis and Robert Moore in "I'm in Love Forever," Julia Erickson's commitment to risk.

But all of the PBT dancers deserve credit, because this is now a company of real soloists, where a corps dancer can step into a leading role. So if you haven't seen PBT this season, you haven't seen PBT. It is the harbinger of the arts in Pittsburgh, both for technical excitement and a boldly balanced and attractive season, during the next year.