New York City Ballet’s “Dancers’ Choice” gala on Friday, a one-off performance that benefited the company’s Dancers’ Emergency Fund, had a familial feeling. In opening remarks, NYCB artistic director Peter Martins explained that this year marked a revival of what was once an annual gala to benefit the fund; to restore the tradition, he asked NYCB principal dancer Jonathan Stafford to curate the evening. The dancers contributed in many ways besides performing, and the entire event demonstrated a cheerful and earnest “Let’s put on a show” enthusiasm.

The spectators applauded as if they were cheering for their own children, and in some cases they probably were. There were many in the audience who are vital members of NYCB’s extended family of supporters, as well as what sounded like students sitting in the upper reaches. They were vastly entertained by a film compilation of footage of childhood performances by adult dancers currently on the roster.

Many of the dancers performed excerpts from ballets that were new to them. The evening opened with the third movement of Balanchine’s “Rubies.” Daniel Ulbricht made his debut in this with Ashley Bouder, and managed to be a more inappropriate partner for Ms. Bouder than Joaquin De Luz was at Damian Woetzel’s farewell performance earlier this month. The poor match mattered less here than during Mr. Woetzel’s evening, since the third movement has less partnering than the second movement duet that Ms. Bouder and Mr. De Luz performed. Nevertheless, Mr. Ulbricht’s solos were blunt and foreshortened. Ms. Bouder was a bit more sedate than she had been at the Woetzel affair, but her phrasing was idiosyncratic to the point of eccentricity. Ellen Bar, making her debut as the “pin-up” soloist, was auspicious.

One of Mr. Martins’s mandates to Mr. Stafford was to include underperformed works. The full version of Mr. Martins’s “Ecstatic Orange” hasn’t been seen in years, but Janie Taylor danced the “Purple” duet here as she had at an NYCB opening night gala 18 months ago. The juxtaposition of Ms. Taylor’s delicacy and Craig Hall’s strength reminded us that ballet benefits from clearly delineated contrast.

One problem with galas is the absence of a cushioned context in which the excerpted snippets arise in a full performance. Pieces dependent on mood don’t enjoy the carefully constructed buildup to the creation of that mood that comes in a repertory performance. The man’s slow solo in Balanchine’s “Square Dance” pops up from time to time at NYCB’s galas, despite its extreme quietude. But it is a change of pace, and always welcome under any circumstances. Andrew Veyette was able to get almost as much out of this as he would have in a regular performance.

Making her debut in Fauré’s “Sicilienne” solo from Balanchine’s “Emeralds,” Teresa Reichlen wasn’t quite up to par; she brought a clockwork feel to one of the least ticktock musical and choreographic compositions in the NYCB repertory. Everyone in “Interplay,” the newcomers and the veterans, made us believe that they were actually having fun. But the excerpted segment from “Dances at a Gathering” seemed rather randomly chosen.

Company member Adam Hendrickson made “Flit of Fury — The Monarch,” to minimalist/jazz music for two pianos by his colleague Aaron Severini. It featured Sean Suozzi, Robert Fairchild, Allen Peiffer, and David Prottas. Mr. Suozzi had an encouner with Gretchen Smith, but the ballet functioned chiefly as a vehicle to show off the four men’s very different bodies and styles, all the more legibly demonstrated by their frequent performing in unison.

Mr. Martins’s 1989 “Beethoven Romance” was revived for this occasion, well danced by Sara Mearns and Stephen Hanna. Then came two very good debuts: Savannah Lowery in the seismic percussion of the “MacDonald of Sleat” campaign from Balanchine’s “Union Jack,” and Troy Schumacher leading the “Thunder and Gladiator” regiment from Balanchine’s “Stars and Stripes.”

Abi Stafford and Tyler Angle were very nice in a duet from Christopher Wheeldon’s “Mercurial Manoeuvres,” but neither Mr. Angle, who had earlier appeared in “Dances at a Gathering,” nor anyone else should be making repeat appearances in an in-house gala like this; it makes the company looks pinched.

The program ended with the fourth movement and finale of Balanchine’s “Symphony in C,” one of the company’s traditional program-closers. It’s one of the most rigorously classical of the company’s neoclassical repertory, and I’m sorry to say that here a number of the principals and soloists were downright bad.