Since joining Cincinnati Ballet in September 1997, former Moscow Festival Ballet soloists Anna Reznik and Alexei Kremnev have added luster to whatever work they've happened to be dancing. Last December's Nutcracker, of all things, is a case in point; with five choreographers sharing the credit for the company's present version, it is hardly the place one turns for cohesive, let alone radiant, moments. Yet, these two beautifully schooled dancers provided exactly that in the Snow Scene, first mounted by Frederic Franklin in 1974.

The sequence is all that remains of a once-unified Cincinnati production set by Franklin and Moscelyne and Roman Jasinski. As the Snow Queen, who welcomes Clara then gently shoos her along to the Candy Kingdom, Reznik's unforced movement cast a glow over a scene that builds to an image of snowdrifts on the move, with the handsome, technically adept Kremnev providing sensitive support.

The delicately pretty Reznik's lyricism and understated way of lingering over phrases redefine every familiar role in the way a fine classical dancer can do, while Kremnev is a persuasive stylist. Reznik's joyous submission to new technical challenges in George Balanchine's Divertimento No. 15 and Kremnev's panache in the sunny Frederic Franklin/Alexandra Danilova divertissement from Paquita highlighted two mixed-repertory bills in last spring's season.

For the 1998-99 season opening (October 2-4), they were the transcendent pulse that quickened Val Caniparoli's lengthy Lady of the Camellias. As the doomed Marguerite and Armand, they shaded the ballet's intricate pas de deux with intense emotion that was never over the top. When called upon, these dancers also fit easily into an ensemble, as they did in Dennis Poole's "Waltz of the Flowers," the same night as their Snow triumph. Reznik and Kremnev have demonstrated their mettle. What they need now are more ballets worthy of their talents.