For a small company, BalletMet Columbus is thinking big these days. Since David Nixon was named artistic director five years ago, the company's programming has expanded in all ways, from number of performances to types of ballets.

Last year it essayed its first-ever full-length "Swan Lake", the legendary work that defines ballet for most people. This year, it closes its season with a new production of "The Sleeping Beauty", the consummate classical work as well as the largest.

No small feat for a company of 25, though the BalletMet roster is bulging with extras this weekend.

Slightly longer that two hours and overflowing with characters large and small, this ballet is a strategic as well as balletic challenge. Yet last night's Ohio Theatre opening showed the cast well-prepared.

This surely had much to do with the staging by Associate Artistic Director Gerard Charles, whose vision for the work remained clear and focussed throughout. In his first major effort for BalletMet, Charles presented the ballet in its best light, retaining the important numbers and traditions, yet finding ways to add humor and heighten drama.

Last night's Princess, Hiromi Ushino, proved a sparkling dynamo. Her youthful charm, speed and agility all worked to her advantage. She passed the many tests given to her in the famous Rose Adagio in Act I with only minute flaws.

Opposite her was Dimitri Suslov as Prince Florimund. The company's most accomplished classical male dancer, Suslov proved both exciting and entertaining, and carried of the variations in the Grand Pas de Deux with appropriate style.

In the revered role of the Lilac Fairy, Sonia Welker performed with perfect benevolence and grace. Her entrance - with her retinue of lavender ladies - is one of the grandest in the production. The other Fairies danced their solos with wonderful personality and technical display, though Shaun Boyle as the Fairy of Song was perhaps most delightul.

David Nixon, as the Fairy Queen Carabosse, combined evil with outrage for a memorable, show-stealing performance. Of course his court of small would-be assassins helped considerably. Of the character dances in Act III, Anne Adair Wilkins' Bluebird, Carrie West's White Cat and Jim Orrante's Puss in Boots were exceptionally well-done.

Costumes for the principals by BalletMet's Lynn Holbrook are exquisite in color, fabric and detail. One wishes the audience could get a closer look.

The Tchaikowsky score contains many gems, some as well-known as selections from his other great ballets. Conductor Gary Sheldon transformed the Columbus Symphony Orchestra into a true partner to the dancers in every way, with seemingly ideal tempos and a flair for excitement, surely one reason the company moved so musically from beginning to end. Last night's performance was artistic collaboration at its best.