The company opened its little Tchaikovsky Festival on Tuesday night at the New York State Theater with three fine ballets by George Balanchine.

"Piano Pieces" dates from the 1981 Tchaikovsky Festival and the unrelated pieces were played by Jerry Zimmerman.

One program will consist of ballet set to Tchaikovsky as part of the theater's Tchaikovsky Festival.

"Tchaikovsky Festival," featuring the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.

"It's a real feeling of accomplishment," said Raul Munoz Leos, president of Dupont de Mexico, who was attending the Tchaikovsky Festival here.

He created new roles for her, notably the subtle "Piano Pieces" of the company's 1981 Tchaikovsky Festival.

That work was created for the City Ballet's 1981 Tchaikovsky Festival, and typically it had not received the notice it deserved among so many other Tchaikovsky ballets.

This "Mozartiana" (Balanchine had choreographed earlier versions in the 1930s) had its premiere in City Ballet's 1981 Tchaikovsky Festival.

In 1981, two years before his death, Balanchine formalized his appreciation with a major Tchaikovsky Festival by the City Ballet.

"Andantino" (1981), created at Balanchine's request for the company's Tchaikovsky Festival, exemplifies Mr. Robbins's exploration of classical partnering.