VAIL - The final work on Wednesday's performance by the Seattle-based Pacific Northwest Ballet aptly sums up the attitude - and the altitude - of the Vail International Dance Festival: In the middle, somewhat elevated.

That unrelentingly cutting- edge piece by William Forsythe may have outlasted its welcome for many in the Ford Amphitheatre audience, but its title does capture the all-embracing philosophy of Vail's long-running summer event.

Now under the energetic artistic directorship of New York City Ballet star Damian Woetzel, the festival is intent on representing all that is entertaining about dance, with repertory chosen to attract curious newcomers as well as sophisticated fans. And all, it should be remembered, in the thin air of the Vail Valley.

This weekend promises the festival's signature offering: the International Evenings, featuring leading couples from illustrious companies around the globe.

While Wednesday's entertaining program by Pacific Northwest Ballet may not have featured any stars, it delivered first-rate performances of intriguing works by choreographers billed as "Modern Masters."

No one can argue that Forsythe, Twyla Tharp and Nacho Duato fit that title, though the jury is still out on the little-known German Marco Goecke, whose quirky solo Mopey failed to make much of an impression.

Danced with impressive dramatic range and nuance by James Moore, this three-part piece was intended to depict "an angry teenager in his room," PNB artistic director Peter Boal told the audience. Dancing to music by C.P.E. Bach and (we kid you not) the Cramps, the shirtless Moore sweated and fretted about, but not much came of it.

Such was not the case with the extraordinary piece by Spaniard Duato. Jardi Tancat (Closed Garden) sympathetically captured the lives of hardworking peasant farmers. Dancing to the gorgeous singing of Maria del Mar Bonet, three barefoot couples moved in lovely unison steps or in smaller groups on a space bordered by a dozen slender, bare tree trunks. An enthralling experience.

Engrossing in a different way, Forsythe's 20-year-old In the middle is a long, semi-balletic work set to a heavy-beat electronic score. Nine dancers in teal unitards performed this eye-catching work with intensity and commitment, but the piece could not escape a sense of coldness.

In direct contrast, the program opened with Tharp's ballroom- dance paean to Old Blue Eyes, Nine Sinatra Songs, which unfolded with a sweetness that easily won over Wednesday's audience. Elegantly dressed couples twirling to Sinatra?

What's not to like?