If it’s true a conductor must have good hair, Ormsby Wilkins is in excellent shape. Mr. Wilkins – recently appointed musical director of American Ballet Theatre – has a loose (but not long) mane of white hair that shakes around nicely.

But tresses or no, Mr.Wilkins is a talented ballet conductor. He has been guesting with ABT since 2000, even while maintaining his post as the musical director and principal conductor for the National Ballet of Canada. He will move to New York this summer, and officially take the reins at ABT for the fall 2006 season.

What makes someone a good ballet conductor? What does Mr.Wilkins have that makes dancers enjoy working with him? “It’s important that dancers feel they’ve got someone looking after them in the pit,” Mr.Wilkins said. “Confidence, consistency, and musicality.”

That last one sounded a little oxymoronic to me. How can a conductor not be musical? Isn’t that an occupational requirement? Yes, but it’s not that simple, as ABT’s new top baton explained.

“For dancers tempi are very important,” Mr.Wilkins said. “We all come to agreement about tempi in the studio, and then consistency is important. What was agreed upon is what happens.”

When dancers aren’t in the picture, the criteria change. “For conductors in the symphonic world, that’s not as important,”he said.”Maybe it will be a little different from what it was in rehearsal.That’s part of the spontaneity.”

That’s the practical side of the answer. But something in that nebulous concept of musicality matters very much to the marriage of classical ballet and music.

“It’s about phrasing and dance – and if [the dancers] feel the phrasing is comfortable for them,” Mr. Wilkins said. “There’s something about good dance phrasing onstage. If we are in agreement on that, it’s comfortable.”

Dancers’ phrasing allows some to let the music lead them – instead of counts provided by the choreographer. Once they get it, they can give the steps extra spark, go a little faster or slower for greater creativity. But this aspect of dancing really requires an innate musical ear.

In Eliza Gaynor Minden’s new book, “The Ballet Companion” (Fireside), she gives dancers this advice: “Movement phrases connect individual steps the same way that musical phrases connect individual notes. Think of your dancing as a pearl necklace: Each pearl is beautiful by itself, but the whole necklace is the thing … Musicality, however, is more than just being on the music. It’s the ability to hear subtle qualities and structures within the music and then communicate them through your dancing.”

For dance phrasing to be artistic, it has to be supremely connected to the music. Ballet master Sean Lavery, of the School of American Ballet, finds that while phrasing keeps things alive onstage, dancers can go overboard at times. An example is a dancer who holds a balance for extra chords, when she should be on tempo.

“It gets to be a bore because it’s not spontaneous,” he said. “You don’t want [dancers] to be machines. You also don’t want them to change the choreography.” The best results come when tasteful dance phrasing and danceable music phrasing meet in happy coexistence. A conductor like Mr. Wilkins tries to create that.

“I learned from one of the best, John Lanchbery, who was principal conductor of the Royal Ballet,” Mr. Wilkins said. “He had this ability to galvanize dancers.They trusted him.”

Indeed, Lanchbery was a major figure in the world of ballet music. He arranged many ballets, including “La Fille mal gardee” and “La Bayadere,” as well as arrangements of opera scores for ballet, such as “The Merry Widow.”

Mr. Wilkins main goals include giving the ABT orchestra – which he describes as “very fine” – guidance and a sense of security. “The orchestra hasn’t had a director for a number of years,” he said. “The musicians look to a director. As a guest conductor, there’s a limit to what someone can do.”

With Lanchbery as a model, Mr. Wilkins certainly has a good example for how to proceed at ABT. And he has already served as a musical director. So he’s feeling somewhat confident about the role: “I know what’s in store for me.”

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The Dance on Camera Festival – now in its 10th season – kicks off tomorrow at the Walter Reade Theater. This series is devoted to the many ways that movement is captured on film and will include 14 programs (January 4 to 7, 10, 13, and 14).

Fans of New York City Ballet will want to check out program 11 (January 10 at 1 p.m.), which includes the documentary “Bringing Balanchine Back.” The film details the company’s 2003 tour to St. Petersburg – and there’s more drama to it than you might expect.

pcatton@nysun.com